When All Purpose is Lost

By Ai

*Warning!* – There will be some intense issues/content coming up towards the end of the chapter, please be warned!

Chapter 12

He couldn't bear the screaming anymore.  He tried to tune it out…tried again and again, but it didn't work.  It pierced right through his barriers into his mind.  He couldn't stand it.  Not caring about anything else, he clamped his hands over his ears in a last effort to block out the horrible sound.  He squeezed his eyes shut but the horrible words still came at him with full force.  Finally, it started to fade as the source was being dragged away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up while letting his hands drop.

"You okay?" Trowa asked.

"Hn." Heero replied and got up from his seat.  He could have never imagined how emotional such an experience could be.  The judge was giving some final statements.

"I need some fresh air." And with that, he slid out to the aisle and exited quietly.

**** *

Relena sat, holding her knees up to her chin.  Her hands still trembled slightly as she sat on the steps and focused on the pigeons that had flown down to eat some bread crumbs that someone had left behind.

"Relena, why don't I get you something to drink?" Hilde offered.

Relena nodded and mumbled a word of appreciation.  So Hilde left to find something drinkable and also to check up on the court proceedings.

Shivering, she rubbed her arms and looked up at the sky…the sun was still smiling down at her.  The warm rays were dancing across her skin, yet she still felt the shivers traveling up and down her spine.  Today had been such a disappointment and such a torturous trip.  Her eyes glazed over as she thought hard, directing her sight to the shiny marble reflecting the sun at her feet.  Suddenly, a shadow blocked the sun from reaching her and the marble stopped shimmering.  She felt another shiver before warmth spread through her shoulders and arms.  Finally looking up, Relena saw Heero standing there.  He had placed his suit jacket on her shoulders.

"Mind if I have a seat?" He asked.

"Go ahead." She replied, thankful for the warmth.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm ok.  Sorry I ran out like that." She was miserable.

"It does get quite suffocating in there, doesn't it." He nodded.

"How about you?  How are you doing?" She echoed his earlier question.

He didn't reply for a moment.

"I don't know." He admitted.

She lifted her head and looked at him.  It was finally noticeable to her that his complexion was quite pale.

"It was all very…unexpected." He said.

He looked at her.  Her eyes seemed to tell him that she understood what he was going through and he was suddenly curious about her.  To him, she was still somewhat mysterious…as he was to her.

"Life is so spontaneous when you least expect it to be." She gave him a small smile.  "Did everything go well?" She asked quietly.

"I'm not sure.  Ok, I think." He replied.

Then they just sat in silence, not really sure of what to say next.

"There you are, Heero." Hilde ran towards them with a bottle of water in her hand.  She reached them and handed the bottle to Relena.

"I didn't see you in there.  Is everything alright?" Hilde asked with concern.

"Yes.  I just needed a breath of fresh air." Heero explained.

"I see.  Well, I think they're on their way out soon."

"Hn."

"Heero, you okay dude?!"

Heero almost rolled his eyes.  Hilde's comment had been true.  He stood up and turned around to see the group heading his way.

"I'm fine." He said, frowning at Duo.

"Don't just run out like that.  Say, Relena, are you okay?" Duo turned to Relena.

"I'm fine…I'm wasn't feeling very well but some fresh air really helped." She gave them a small smile.

"What's with you two?  I mean, both of you go running out like court's gonna make you puke or something…"

"Shut up, Duo." Heero said tiredly.  Duo pouted.

"Why don't we just go home." Trowa suggested, finally speaking up.

"You kids must be quite tired," Mr. Carter agreed as he came up to them.  He turned to Heero.

"You have nothing to worry about Heero.  I thought it went quite well.  The judge will give a judgment at a later court date, but right now, you should get some rest.  I'll drive you all home."  He patted Heero's shoulder and gently pushed him towards where the car was waiting while the others followed.  They were all glad that a difficult day was over with.  All strength was needed to get through the upcoming ones.

**** *

He tossed and turned…his sheets were slick with perspiration.  His fist clenched around his covers, turning his knuckles white.  A groan escaped his lips.

"No…NO!" He jolted up from his bed, breathing heavily.  A groan brought him to reality as the figure in the other bed turned in its sleep.  He sighed, wiping sweat from his brow.  Looking at his alarm clock, he got up from bed and shuffled to the bathroom.  6:00 a.m.  He flipped on the light and closed the door behind him.  Turning on the tap, he splashed the ice cold water onto his face.  At least it was 6:00 a.m., not too far from his usual rising time.  This had been so unexpected…he hadn't had nightmares in quite a while, especially since he had arrived at the shelter.  Some people say court proceedings can get quite traumatic and he supposed that it held some truth.  He knew that if he went back to bed, he wouldn't get any sleep so he opted to start his day.

After finishing dressing, he decided to take a walk, get some fresh air and clear his mind.  He set out for the garden.  It would be quiet and peaceful there…a good environment for sorting his thoughts out.  He approached the maze and easily found his way to the center.  Slowly, he walked up to the bench and saw that someone was already there.  She turned around at his footsteps.  It was Relena.

"Hello." She murmured.

"Hi." He replied.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out to watch the sunrise." She smiled, "and you?"

"Just came out to think." She nodded before motioning for him to take a seat beside her.

The sun had just begun to rise from the horizon, its warm, golden rays spilling across the landscape.  He heard her sigh, a contented sigh.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked him, her eyes sparkling.

"Hn." He agreed.

He looked at her and their eyes locked.

God, she's so beautiful. He thought as the sunlight framed her beautiful face and made her eyes and hair sparkle like stars.  He had never felt so good before, so happy…he had never experienced this inexplicable feeling before…it was quite breathtaking.  She looked surprised, awed and he couldn't help but lean closer to her. 

He leaned closer to her and she held her breath.  She couldn't pull her gaze from his deep blue eyes.  She yearned to search through their depths, and find her way inside Heero's mysterious soul.  Her heart raced faster than ever and she felt as if her heart was about to pop out.  She also leaned closer to him…it was as if she was attracted to him like a magnet…and then…

"Squawk!"

They jumped and quickly looked away, blushing.  A crow had startled them.  They both turned their eyes back to the sunrise, blocking out everything else.  Finally, the sun was in the sky.  Heero got up first and Relena followed.

"It's about time for breakfast.  I'll see you later." Heero said.

"Ok, see you later." Relena replied and Heero turned to walk back towards the building.

"Heero!" She called out, he stopped.

"Thanks for sharing the sunrise with me." Relena whispered.

"No, thank You." He continued on his way.  She stood there for a few seconds before following him back.

**** *

"Class, I would like to hand back your tests before dismissal."  Mr. Whitman announced and proceeded to hand the class back the tests.  After he had finished, Heero still had not gotten his test back.

"Mr. Grant and Mr. Yuy, I would like to have a word with you, the rest of you may be dismissed." Mr. Whitman stated before returning to his seat.

Heero shrugged, not knowing what to make of the situation.  He packed up his stuff and gave Duo a quick wave.

Mr. Whitman cleared his throat after both he and Raymond Grant had assembled themselves before his desk.

"Both of you have done extremely well on this test.  You have proven to me that you know a lot about the world during the 19th century.  However, you have also shown me that one of you cannot be trusted.  It would be wiser to admit to the crime now than later." He folded his hands and placed them calmly on his desk.

Heero was confused.  He didn't know what was going on.

"What do you mean, Mr. Whitman?" He asked.

"If both of you are choosing to keep quiet, then let me tell you.  Your tests were identical."

"You can't be serious, sir.  You aren't implying that I would cheat?  Why would I cheat off this loser?" Raymond Grant demanded.

"Who are you calling a loser?" Heero glared at the boy.

"Well, it's obvious that one of you did." Mr. Whitman showed the boys the two incriminating tests.

Heero was appalled.  He had worked so hard in this class and had studied for countless hours to prepare for the test.  It was true, all the answers and mistakes were identical.  He clenched his fists in anger.

"I did not cheat." Heero declared clearly and calmly in a monotone.

"Are you sure about that?" Mr. Whitman asked.  Raymond Grant smirked.  Heero could feel anger rise from the pit of his stomach.

"Of course I'm sure." He almost snapped, but didn't, opting to keep his composure.

"Mr. Yuy, how do you expect me to believe you if you've barely been getting 70's in your previous school and you come here to pull off a 95%?  Mr. Grant has always kept his average in the 90's."

"Can you be sure that this was not an exception?" Heero asked.

"I highly doubt it.  You will be receiving a zero on this test." Mr. Whitman calmly informed him.

Heero was overwhelmed by anger.

"This is unreasonable.  If you were to quiz me on any fact about the 19th century right now, I could probably tell you what you wanted to know whereas Grant over there wouldn't know a thing!" Heero bursted out in rage.

"How dare you!" Raymond Grant yelled.

"Very well, if you insist, though I think this is utterly pointless.  Mr. Yuy, if you cannot answer 18 out of the 20 questions posed, not only will you receive a zero, but you will also make a trip down to the principal's office."

"Fine, but I request that Grant also be quizzed."

"What?"  Raymond Grant visibly paled.

"Are you scared?" Heero challenged.

"No.  Never." He sputtered.

"Then let it begin." And Mr. Whitman began.

**** *

"Hey Heero, what took you so long?" Duo rushed up to him.  Relena and Hilde were also there waiting for him.

At this moment, Heero felt two emotions: anger and satisfaction.  He had been angry to find out that teachers were so discriminating in this school but it felt so good to prove them wrong.

"Well?" Duo asked.

"Good ol' Whitman thought I cheated off Grant." Heero replied icily.

"Are you serious?  We all know that you studied every day for that test." Duo exclaimed.

"So what happened?" Hilde asked.

"I proved to him that I was innocent and shoved Grant's pretty face in the dirt." Heero's expression was grim.

"Grant?  You mean Ray Grant?" Relena piped in.

"Yeah."

"It's not your fault Heero.  Some teachers are so blind…especially since most of them know which kids are from the shelter.  They know we can't do anything to them.  We all know that Ray is Richard Grant's son.  Maybe ol' man Whitman was just scared of his dad." Hilde offered.

"It's all because of his old man.  Ray Grant is like nothing without him.  I mean Richard Grant is the president of that big computer corporation." Duo added.

"Thanks." Heero mumbled.

"At least you've proven your case.  Just as long as someone appreciates our talents…let's go home." Relena said softly, and the four teenagers headed back to the shelter.

**** *

Duo sighed and rolled off his bed.  Studying was such a pain.  He looked over to Heero who was at his desk, with the thick history textbook open in front of him.

"Hey Heero, want something to drink?" Duo offered.

Heero only shook his head in response.

"You don't have to work your ass off for Whitman you know."

Exams were coming up.  Ever since that day when Heero had left Mr. Whitman speechless, he had tried to somehow shoot Heero down.  Of course, all that work proved to be unsuccessful but Heero didn't want to be lose this battle of wits when he only had the exam left before the break. 

"You're neglecting all your other subjects."  Duo opened his Coke with a swift flick of his hand and poured the cool liquid down his throat.

"Why are you so concerned?  You should worry about all that caffeine you're intaking." Heero turned back to his studying.  Duo sighed again and ran his hand through his bangs.  He did not know how Heero did it…just sitting there still, studying.  Duo shook his head and stretched before climbing back onto his bed to study from the open textbook lying there.

**** *

"Relena, are you studying?"

"No Hilde…what do you need?" Relena gently put down her pencil and placed her sketchbook onto her bed.

"Can you help me with this math question…I'm so sorry, Relena.  I'm always bothering you." Hilde rubbed her temples in a bit of frustration.

"Not at all.  You always help me in English class." Relena smiled at her.

"You know, you remind me of Heero sometimes." Hilde giggled as Relena blushed.

"Why is that?"

"Well, both of you are such bookworms." Hilde giggled again.

"It's worth the effort I guess, don't you think?"

"What do you draw in that sketchbook of yours anyway?  It's not the one for art class."

Relena blushed and swiftly put away her sketchbook.

"Nothing much really…just thoughts and images.  Now what was that question you wanted to ask me?"

Hilde shook her head.  Relena was still so secretive.  But she supposed that everyone had a right to their own privacy.  Hopefully in time, Relena would be able to trust more in her as a confidant.

**** *

As time flew by, exams came and went.  Pretty soon, it was time to get the results of the exam.  The school buzzed with activity.  Half of that energy came from the excitement students were feeling prior to a big break, the other half came from nervousness about exam results.

"Duo, stop biting your nails." Hilde scolded him.

Duo shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"I'm freaked out man!" He exclaimed.

"You should have studied more." Heero remarked.

"I did, you know that." Duo snapped at him.

"Sure…sighing all the time, pacing around the room drinking Coke…sure, that's what studying is all about."

"I'm sure you did fine, Duo." Relena said.

"Thanks Rellie." He stuck out his tongue at Heero.

"You don't seem worried at all, Heero." Relena commented.

"I bet he's shaking inside." Duo whispered.

"I heard that." Heero glared at Duo, making him jump.  "No, I'm not too worried.  I'm sure I passed."

"Me too," Relena said, "although I don't know how I did."

Just then, the voice on the P.A. system called for all Year 10 students to report to the gymnasium.

"Moment of truth." Hilde breathed out.  Duo groaned.

"Come on, let's go." Heero motioned for them to follow.

The separating wall had been opened up to reveal one large gymnasium.  Students were crowded around the long list posted across the length of the gym, trying to search out their names.  The foursome pushed their way to the front.

"Hey, I found mine!  Not bad." Duo exclaimed.

"I found mine too.  Yeah, I'm in the top twenty.  Woohoo!" Hilde jumped up and down.

"So Heero, Relena, how'd you guys do?" Duo asked.  He got no response.  "Guys?"

He directed his gaze to the spot where Heero and Relena's eyes were fixed onto.

"Are you kidding me?!?  You both tied for first?" Duo exclaimed.  A blush slowly worked its up way across Relena's cheeks.

"Congratulations!" Hilde gave Relena a hug.

"Wow, you beat Winner.  He's only 0.5 percent behind you guys.  And look, Grant's in sixth.  What a loser, he didn't even get into the top five."  Duo grinned and slapped Heero's back.

Heero glared at him as he jolted forward.

"How do you know all the people who ranked tops?"

"Who do you think I am?  Of course I know.  I know all the student numbers of the V.I.P.s in this school." Duo rolled his eyes.

Relena still looked a bit dazed as they were pushed to the back of the crowd.

"I…I can't believe it." She stammered.

"You better believe it, you worked so hard." Hilde said. "Anyway, we better get to our lockers and clean it out for the new semester."

The group headed towards the hallway, chatting happily, unaware of the numerous glares they received.

**** *

"I would've never thought that we'd come to this day when Grant would be knocked off the top five spots." Duo said in a sing-song voice.

"You know, you should just shut up.  What if he hears us?" Hilde whispered.

"So?  What can he do?  Beat us up?  Please, he's in enough trouble for getting caught cheating last time.  We know he's just papa's boy…the only reason he's still sixth is cuz he always cheats off Winner." Duo put his hands behind his head.

"Don't ya feel good Heero?  Revenge is so sweet, isn't it?" Duo sighed.  "Heero?"

"I thought he was with us." Hilde said, puzzled.

Both of them turned around.  He wasn't there.  Neither was Relena.

"How'd they just disappear like that?" Hilde mused.

"Maybe they just sneaked out to have a smooch." Duo winked at Hilde.  "Come on, we'll wait for them at our lockers.  Maybe we can catch a smooch too." 

Hilde rolled her eyes but followed anyway, looking one more time behind her.

**** *

"Let go of me!" Heero growled as he broke loose from their grasps.  But it was no use, he was surrounded.

He felt a body bump into him, and saw Relena clinging onto his sleeve, petrified.

"What do you want from us?" Heero demanded in a low, dangerous voice.

"Very straightforward, are we?" A boy with a stick emerged from the shadows.

"Grant." Heero stated.

"You didn't think that I'd let you go so easily after what you did to me, did you?  And to think you took the top spot too eh?" He had an evil gleam in his eyes.

"Okay, you want to deal with me.  Why is she here?" Heero nodded his head at Relena.

"We want to deal with that bitch.  Got a problem with that?"  A few girls emerged.

"Janine.  I'm glad you could make it." Ray Grant said.

"What did I do to you?" Relena asked bravely, speaking up for the first time.

"What did you do to us?  You stole the attention of all the boys in this school, and you stole our position on the top ranks.  Who do you think you are?  You're just some whore from wherever." Janine smirked as she and her girls advanced on Relena.

"Don't you dare insult her like that." Heero roared.

"When did you get a say in this?" Ray punched Heero in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Guys, don't you think you're going too far with this?" A voice spoke up.

A tall boy with blond hair stepped forward wearing a frown.

"Either you leave or you stay and shut up Quat.  This is not your area of authority." Ray growled.

The boy shut up but didn't budge.

A sickening thud resonated through the deserted hall as Heero's body came in contact with the cold, hard floor.  They were hitting him with baseball bats.  Heero would not give them the pleasure of hearing him cry out in pain.  He bit on his lip until he drew blood.

"Pretty stubborn, eh?  Well no matter how strong you are, I'm going to make you whimper like a dog." Ray and his followers laughed.

At this moment, the girls advanced on Relena.  They slapped her, kicked her and yanked her hair.  She finally couldn't stand it and cried out in pain.

"I knew I'd break you sooner or later.  You're just an ugly whore." Janine laughed.

Heero squeezed his eyes shut, he felt so helpless at the moment.  And then, he saw a reflection of something shiny.  It was a knife that was in Janine's hand.

"I'm going to make sure you're never attractive again."

Relena's eyes widened in horror as shook her head in disbelief.

"No!" Heero yelled, receiving more kicks in return.

Janine raised her hand and…

Heero had thrown his cellphone at her, knocking the blade out of her hand.

"Ouch!" Janine cried as her hand bled from contact with the blade.

"Janine, it's none of your business here anymore." Ray ordered.
Janine pouted but obeyed and retreated with her followers.

"Please stop hitting him, you'll kill him." Relena could only manage to whisper hoarsely, a crumpled mess on the floor.

"You should know better than to mess with us.  I want you to suffer.  Since you're so concerned about this Relena girl, I'm going to torture you.  I want you to know that I'm untouchable.  I want you to know that you're just a f*cking piece of sh*t."

They stopped beating Heero and locked him in their grip.

"Get her." He growled.

The boys started advancing on Relena.  They pressed her against the wall.  She was sobbing.

Heero looked on in horror.

They tried to kiss her, to touch her as Heero yelled for them to stop.

"She's my whore now, Yuy.  Did you know, her skin's just as soft as it looks." Ray smirked as he slipped his hands up her shirt, running his hand up and down her back.  He breathed into her face.  She kicked him in the crotch.

"F*ck!" Ray hissed as he was bent over in pain.  He recomposed himself and slapped Relena hard across her face, making her cry out.

"I don't care if you rip all her clothes off and f*ck her again and again, I want you to break her." He growled in command.  His gang all advanced, with mad gleams in their eyes.

"No!" Relena whimpered.

Heero gritted his teeth, trying to break loose but failing miserably.

They started to yank at her tie, at her shirt and at her skirt.

Heero was enraged.  He clenched his fists.

"Stop it!!" A voice clearly rang, an angry and firm voice.  It was the blond boy.

"I told you to stay out of this!" Ray headed towards him.

"No!  You're taking this too far.  You're going to get them killed.  You were only supposed to scare them, not rape and assault them.  Are you out of your mind???  Are you insane?  Do you want to be a criminal?" He demanded.

"Why the f*ck do you care?  It's none of your business."

"Yes it is.  Why are you doing this?"

"It doesn't concern you what I do…I'll do whatever I want."

"I won't let you!!!"

The two boys started to fight, punching each other, shoving and kicking. 

At this precise moment, during the chaos, a scream of agony filled the air.

"Relena!!" Heero yelled, feeling tears burn his eyes.

"I didn't do anything!" One of the boys exclaimed and they all backed away from the girl with sudden fear.

Relena had collapsed and was shaking on the floor, her face as pale as a ghost's.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the girl shaking violently on the floor.

Heero couldn't feel anything but pure rage and the immense pain in his heart.

"What the f*ck did you do to her!?!" And with that, he ripped free from the grips of the boys that were holding him back.  He started going on a mad rampage, punching, kicking, fighting people like he never had before.  With his bare hands, he flipped people on to their backs and gave them black eyes and bloody noses.  In a matter of minutes, all of them fled, with Ray Grant promising weakly that he'd be back. 

Heero stopped, panting before rushing over to Relena.  He scooped her into his arms, pulling her partly opened shirt closed.

"How are you Relena?" Heero asked, his usual monotony fading.

"It hurts Heero…" Tears were streaming down her face.

"Where?"  Heero looked around for blood.

"My…my stomach." She gasped.

"I know it hurts, hold on Rellie." He held her close.

"I'm so sorry." Heero's head snapped up at the voice.  It was the blond boy...and at that instant, he knew that the only reason why he had fought off those thugs so quickly was because he had helped.

"How is she?" He asked.

Heero looked him in the eye.  In his blue eyes was only concern.  Heero decided that he was sincere and could be trusted.

"…Quatre Winner, am I right?" He saw the other boy nod.  "We need some help."

"Okay, you stay here with her.  I'll go get the nurse." And he hurried off.

Heero brushed the sweat-soaked bangs from her forehead.

"I'm so cold Heero…it hurts." She choked.

He held her closer.

"Ssshh.  Quatre's gone to get us some help.  You're going to be ok."

He held her hand, and held it for the whole way, never letting go once.

A.N.:  How was it?  Sorry for the delay in posting this but I only got a chance to finish this today since my exams are finally over.  I hope it wasn't too intense or disturbing...what happened to Relena and Heero.  I got shivers just writing about it.  But it goes to show that NO, it's not a fairy tale once they arrive at the shelter.  They still have to deal with the numerous obstacles that are ahead of them.  I didn't want the whole story seem like it was too good to be true.  And no, not all rich people are snobby and mean…Quatre is a very good example.  Anyway, hope you guys and keep reading.  Thanks for the support!

Disclaimer: You know the drill.