DANGEROUS PASTIME
Sequel to School Days and Montage story by Natasha Klus (Tashasaphi)
Disclaimer- All official Gundam Wing Characters, locations and machinery are copyrighted by their respective owners. The plot, other characters and machinery are property of Natasha Klus.
Dangerous Pastime is set just over 2 and a half years after the end of the 1 year war. It is also set about two months after the end of my earlier fic 'School Days' where the Gundam Pilots return to school to try and learn to fit into ordinary society. I apologise in advance for killing off characters for plot progress and viability, as well as occasional OOCness and inserted characters and organisations. Dangerous Pastime is a sort of montage- you CAN read it without reading School Days (very old, very bad fic ) but you may want to read the sequel when it's posted. I can't guarantee you not wanting to. Anyway, now I've stopped stealing Brechtian Techniques, I'll get on with the Prologues. Ja ne.
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**
Prologue 1- Quatre's Story
**Year AC 196, February 22nd**
Quatre looked down the clean white corridor. It was so impersonal it sickened him. How did she end up here of all places? He thought to himself. He clutched the bunch of blue roses a little tighter and continued walking. People from all walks of life looked up at him as he passed.
"Is that the Winner boy?"
"Yeah! They say he has a sick relative in here."
"Poor kid, I wonder why he's here?"
"He looks so sad… it makes me feel bad when the youngun's have to come to this godforsaken place." Quatre ignored them. He was used to it by now. He passed a reception desk where two tall nurses watched him. The nurse with the brown hair scanned down her clipboard.
"2 months to the minute. You have to admit, the boy is punctual!" The nurse with the red hair looked at her.
"Yes, I suppose he is. Still, why does he keep coming? It's not like he's missing anything. The girl hasn't moved for five years except to breathe, and half the time we're doing that for her!" The brown haired nurse glared at her associate.
"Oh don't be so mean! It's his sister! She's all he's got left now. She's the only one in this galaxy who can care about him now." The red head nodded.
Quatre finally stopped at a large ward. It was all but empty. On the door, the sign read "Long Term Ward". Quatre sighed. He looked again at the nameplates. They still hadn't been changed. The closest family members had made them when the patients were transferred there. There were three names. Joshua Kensington was the first. He was an Orphan boy, and a nurse had written his note. The second was Annabelle Walcott. She was about twenty now, Quatre presumed, and her aging mother had written it. Finally there was a note on the door. It was written in very tiny and very forced calligraphic writing. Below it said a name and age. Quatre Raberba Winner, age 11. Quatre smiled a little. He read the name to himself. Cuatro Annilettia Winner, 'Kitty'. He sighed a quavering sigh and entered. Mrs Walcott looked up at Quatre and grinned.
"Hello Mr Winner! It's so nice to see you again! My little poppet was waiting to see you again. Say hello, sweetheart." The girl in the bed winced a little. Quatre grinned.
"Hello Mrs Walcott, Annabelle. I see she's perking up a bit." Mrs Walcott grinned and nodded vigorously.
"Oh yes, love, she has indeed! Oh just last week she was smiling!" Quatre smiled. Mrs Walcott was a little insane. The death of her husband many years previously, combined with the death of her son in the war, and her daughter falling into a coma had driven her quite mad. She actually resided in another ward of the hospital, but she spent most of her time down here. It was the only way to keep her calm. Mrs Walcott's face fell.
"It's so nice that you come and see her, lovey, a handsome young boy like you probably has so many things he could be doing, but you still come in here every two months to see her. How sweet of you." Quatre smiled weakly.
"I could never live with myself if I left her for longer than that, and I simply can't afford to come more. I have to work so much, it's crazy!" Mrs Walcott laughed.
"Poor sweetie, in my day the paper round was only every Saturday morning!" Quatre smiled.
"I really must get on now, Mrs Walcott, I hope Annabelle feels better soon." Mrs Walcott nodded and clutched her daughter's hand.
"Thank you, pet. Say bye now to the nice Mister Winner now, sweet heart." The girl did nothing this time. Quatre whispered a goodbye and waved at the sleeping Annabelle. All speech here was in whispers. No one dared speak above it. Quatre looked at the dust collecting on the other beds and furniture. He sighed. This ward was going to be knocked down in favour of a new research department and eating disorder ward. All the memories, however bad, would disappear with it. He continued on his way. Joshua yelled murder in his sleep. That was the only noise around here. Every five minutes, to the second he yelled out. Everything was clockwork here. But today was going to be different. Quatre reached the drawn set of blue curtains. He pulled them back and covered his eyes.
"Can I come in? Your not getting dressed are you?" he smiled. He lowered his hand. There she lay. Her pale face was covered in the tubes into her nose and the facemask she needed to breathe. From her arm there was a needle plug in her arm. Quatre looked at his watch.
"I bet you'll be wanting this, eh?" he said, his face smiling. He pulled the drip stand towards him and plugged the needle into her arm. The nurses always let him sort her out on the day he came to visit. She did not stir. She was like a porcelain doll, pristine, beautiful and perfect in every way, and she never stirred. She didn't dream. She didn't smile. She didn't wince at the sound of a familiar voice. She didn't scream murder once every five minutes. Heck, Quatre would love it if she yelled 'Quatre is a stupid little orphaned bastard'. He wouldn't care, as long as she did something. She had aged, only as is natural, except she still looked as much of a child as she did when she had come in, if not more. She was even more helpless. Quatre sighed and walked to the bed control. He pushed the up button. As if by magic, Kitty sat up. Her head lolled to one side. Quatre caught her and picked up her wooden hairbrush. He pulled it gently through her hair. She hadn't moved, so there were no knots as usual. Quatre sighed and leant her back down. He pressed the button again and Kitty returned to her comfortable sleeping position. He placed the roses down on the bedside table.
"I brought you these," he said. She didn't reply. He sighed. "They're you favourite; I had them imported from you garden on earth, near the village we used to stay in during the winter. Do you like them?" Kitty lay as still as stone. He sighed, the tears now getting the better of him.
"Did you know," he said quietly, "father got... killed in an accident. I thought I should tell you. They might not have done. Iria... she... died too. She died as I escaped..." he collapsed in a fit of tears on the bed sheets. The brown haired nurse who had come to see Mrs Walcott looked up.
"Poor thing," she whispered, "do you think I should go and see him?" Mrs Walcott shook her head.
"No, pet. He needs to be alone now. You mustn't interfere."
Quatre sighed, trying to calm himself. He stared at Kitty angrily.
"I need you," he whispered, "and you are not here. I need you to be here with me. I need you to know exactly what to say. I need you sit there, playing your harp and letting the strings cut your fingers until you bleed, just because your angry at me and want to make me feel guilty. I need you to slash the strings on my violin. I need you to cook me food that looks horrible and tastes great. I just need you to be there, and your not." Kitty remained still. He looked at his younger sister's face.
"I need those eyes of yours to understand, Kitty. I need you now more than ever. Please, just for one minute, wake up." Kitty didn't stir. Quatre sighed and wiped his face. He pulled out a pocket mirror to reluctantly check his appearance. He felt so wretched doing it, but Jonathan would scrub his face before the meeting this afternoon if he saw tear tracks. Not good for the face of a multibillion dollar corporation to be morbid, after all, despite how miserable he felt. He sighed and began fiddling with his long fringe. He looked at his watch.
"I have got to go now, Ok? I'll be back as soon as I can. The war is over. We are at peace. Maybe one day you will wake up to a perfect world." He got up and walked to the curtains. He heard a gentle snuffling behind him. He turned abruptly and stared in shock at his little sister. She lay still.
"Must have been liquid in the tube," he said quietly, turning again. There was a quiet yet definitive whine behind him. He turned again. Nothing. He continued to watch, reciting a prayer in his head. Kitty's eyebrow twitched as she wheezed again. Quatre almost fell over in shock. He stared in amazement. Kitty's body suddenly seized up and she arched her back as she coughed loudly, choking.
"Nurse!" Quatre screamed, running over, pulling the tube out of her nose and throwing it aside. Kitty's coughing fit continued. The nurse ran in.
"Oh my god!" she screeched as she ran over to the computer beside Kitty and began typing in instructions. Kitty's coughing ceased. Quatre bent over her. Her face was tight with pain. She whined again. Slowly but surely, two amazing midnight eyes opened, and blinked at the light. Quatre burst into tears again, on his knees with his face on Kitty's stomach. She blinked again and looked down.
"Qua..." she began hoarsely; sounding confused, but couldn't continue. Quatre got up and hugged her tightly. She whined at the compressing of her already tight chest. The nurse sighed.
"Her pneumonia is still severe, Master Winner, but... as it seems, she is recovering. Amazing..." Kitty pushed herself up weakly. She looked at Quatre as he wiped his face off again. She touched her forehead and squeaked.
"Wher! Wher?!" she cried out, falling into coughs. Quatre looked at her. He reached into his pocket and drew out a beautiful platinum headpiece of twisted metal and a rhombus diamond and sapphire teardrop. Kitty flopped back against the pillows in relief. She smiled as Quatre put her headpiece on. Quatre grinned.
"I made sure it was safe and sound for you. I kept it polished too, just in case you woke up." Kitty looked at Quatre.
"Woke?" she asked, getting the hang of her voice again. Quatre pulled out his pocket planner and showed Kitty the current page. February 22nd AC 196. Kitty started in the bed and blinked in amazement at the page.
"How?" she asked, her gorgeous eyes working overtime, glancing around her cubicle. She looked over Quatre's face and touched it gently with a hand. Quatre smiled and clasped her hand.
"You've been... asleep for the last five years, Kitten, times have changed." A tear fell down her face from her dark pools.
"You... changed..." she whispered, stroking his cheek with cold hands, "how?" Quatre smiled.
"I grew up," he said gently. Kitty looked over at the small TV the nurse had turned on as she went out.
"Winner Corps have made no comment on the completion of the new colonies. These colonies will be entirely self-sustaining. They will have their own atmosphere; sot here will be no encasing. The idea is believed to have dreamed up by a young Quatre Raberba Winner, the new leader of Winner Corps. The first of these colonies was built almost ten years ago, and has been a huge success. However, the new colonies may take some time to built due to the recent take over Winner Corps by Quatre Raberba Winner, the heir to the Winner fortune," Kitty looked questioningly at Quatre, "Due to the untimely death of the former executive Winner Senior late last year." Kitty wailed in horror and collapsed on Quatre in tears. He exhaled shakily and hugged his beloved little sister as she writhed and sobbed against his chest. At least, through it all, they were finally together again at last.
Sequel to School Days and Montage story by Natasha Klus (Tashasaphi)
Disclaimer- All official Gundam Wing Characters, locations and machinery are copyrighted by their respective owners. The plot, other characters and machinery are property of Natasha Klus.
Dangerous Pastime is set just over 2 and a half years after the end of the 1 year war. It is also set about two months after the end of my earlier fic 'School Days' where the Gundam Pilots return to school to try and learn to fit into ordinary society. I apologise in advance for killing off characters for plot progress and viability, as well as occasional OOCness and inserted characters and organisations. Dangerous Pastime is a sort of montage- you CAN read it without reading School Days (very old, very bad fic ) but you may want to read the sequel when it's posted. I can't guarantee you not wanting to. Anyway, now I've stopped stealing Brechtian Techniques, I'll get on with the Prologues. Ja ne.
*********************************************************************
**
Prologue 1- Quatre's Story
**Year AC 196, February 22nd**
Quatre looked down the clean white corridor. It was so impersonal it sickened him. How did she end up here of all places? He thought to himself. He clutched the bunch of blue roses a little tighter and continued walking. People from all walks of life looked up at him as he passed.
"Is that the Winner boy?"
"Yeah! They say he has a sick relative in here."
"Poor kid, I wonder why he's here?"
"He looks so sad… it makes me feel bad when the youngun's have to come to this godforsaken place." Quatre ignored them. He was used to it by now. He passed a reception desk where two tall nurses watched him. The nurse with the brown hair scanned down her clipboard.
"2 months to the minute. You have to admit, the boy is punctual!" The nurse with the red hair looked at her.
"Yes, I suppose he is. Still, why does he keep coming? It's not like he's missing anything. The girl hasn't moved for five years except to breathe, and half the time we're doing that for her!" The brown haired nurse glared at her associate.
"Oh don't be so mean! It's his sister! She's all he's got left now. She's the only one in this galaxy who can care about him now." The red head nodded.
Quatre finally stopped at a large ward. It was all but empty. On the door, the sign read "Long Term Ward". Quatre sighed. He looked again at the nameplates. They still hadn't been changed. The closest family members had made them when the patients were transferred there. There were three names. Joshua Kensington was the first. He was an Orphan boy, and a nurse had written his note. The second was Annabelle Walcott. She was about twenty now, Quatre presumed, and her aging mother had written it. Finally there was a note on the door. It was written in very tiny and very forced calligraphic writing. Below it said a name and age. Quatre Raberba Winner, age 11. Quatre smiled a little. He read the name to himself. Cuatro Annilettia Winner, 'Kitty'. He sighed a quavering sigh and entered. Mrs Walcott looked up at Quatre and grinned.
"Hello Mr Winner! It's so nice to see you again! My little poppet was waiting to see you again. Say hello, sweetheart." The girl in the bed winced a little. Quatre grinned.
"Hello Mrs Walcott, Annabelle. I see she's perking up a bit." Mrs Walcott grinned and nodded vigorously.
"Oh yes, love, she has indeed! Oh just last week she was smiling!" Quatre smiled. Mrs Walcott was a little insane. The death of her husband many years previously, combined with the death of her son in the war, and her daughter falling into a coma had driven her quite mad. She actually resided in another ward of the hospital, but she spent most of her time down here. It was the only way to keep her calm. Mrs Walcott's face fell.
"It's so nice that you come and see her, lovey, a handsome young boy like you probably has so many things he could be doing, but you still come in here every two months to see her. How sweet of you." Quatre smiled weakly.
"I could never live with myself if I left her for longer than that, and I simply can't afford to come more. I have to work so much, it's crazy!" Mrs Walcott laughed.
"Poor sweetie, in my day the paper round was only every Saturday morning!" Quatre smiled.
"I really must get on now, Mrs Walcott, I hope Annabelle feels better soon." Mrs Walcott nodded and clutched her daughter's hand.
"Thank you, pet. Say bye now to the nice Mister Winner now, sweet heart." The girl did nothing this time. Quatre whispered a goodbye and waved at the sleeping Annabelle. All speech here was in whispers. No one dared speak above it. Quatre looked at the dust collecting on the other beds and furniture. He sighed. This ward was going to be knocked down in favour of a new research department and eating disorder ward. All the memories, however bad, would disappear with it. He continued on his way. Joshua yelled murder in his sleep. That was the only noise around here. Every five minutes, to the second he yelled out. Everything was clockwork here. But today was going to be different. Quatre reached the drawn set of blue curtains. He pulled them back and covered his eyes.
"Can I come in? Your not getting dressed are you?" he smiled. He lowered his hand. There she lay. Her pale face was covered in the tubes into her nose and the facemask she needed to breathe. From her arm there was a needle plug in her arm. Quatre looked at his watch.
"I bet you'll be wanting this, eh?" he said, his face smiling. He pulled the drip stand towards him and plugged the needle into her arm. The nurses always let him sort her out on the day he came to visit. She did not stir. She was like a porcelain doll, pristine, beautiful and perfect in every way, and she never stirred. She didn't dream. She didn't smile. She didn't wince at the sound of a familiar voice. She didn't scream murder once every five minutes. Heck, Quatre would love it if she yelled 'Quatre is a stupid little orphaned bastard'. He wouldn't care, as long as she did something. She had aged, only as is natural, except she still looked as much of a child as she did when she had come in, if not more. She was even more helpless. Quatre sighed and walked to the bed control. He pushed the up button. As if by magic, Kitty sat up. Her head lolled to one side. Quatre caught her and picked up her wooden hairbrush. He pulled it gently through her hair. She hadn't moved, so there were no knots as usual. Quatre sighed and leant her back down. He pressed the button again and Kitty returned to her comfortable sleeping position. He placed the roses down on the bedside table.
"I brought you these," he said. She didn't reply. He sighed. "They're you favourite; I had them imported from you garden on earth, near the village we used to stay in during the winter. Do you like them?" Kitty lay as still as stone. He sighed, the tears now getting the better of him.
"Did you know," he said quietly, "father got... killed in an accident. I thought I should tell you. They might not have done. Iria... she... died too. She died as I escaped..." he collapsed in a fit of tears on the bed sheets. The brown haired nurse who had come to see Mrs Walcott looked up.
"Poor thing," she whispered, "do you think I should go and see him?" Mrs Walcott shook her head.
"No, pet. He needs to be alone now. You mustn't interfere."
Quatre sighed, trying to calm himself. He stared at Kitty angrily.
"I need you," he whispered, "and you are not here. I need you to be here with me. I need you to know exactly what to say. I need you sit there, playing your harp and letting the strings cut your fingers until you bleed, just because your angry at me and want to make me feel guilty. I need you to slash the strings on my violin. I need you to cook me food that looks horrible and tastes great. I just need you to be there, and your not." Kitty remained still. He looked at his younger sister's face.
"I need those eyes of yours to understand, Kitty. I need you now more than ever. Please, just for one minute, wake up." Kitty didn't stir. Quatre sighed and wiped his face. He pulled out a pocket mirror to reluctantly check his appearance. He felt so wretched doing it, but Jonathan would scrub his face before the meeting this afternoon if he saw tear tracks. Not good for the face of a multibillion dollar corporation to be morbid, after all, despite how miserable he felt. He sighed and began fiddling with his long fringe. He looked at his watch.
"I have got to go now, Ok? I'll be back as soon as I can. The war is over. We are at peace. Maybe one day you will wake up to a perfect world." He got up and walked to the curtains. He heard a gentle snuffling behind him. He turned abruptly and stared in shock at his little sister. She lay still.
"Must have been liquid in the tube," he said quietly, turning again. There was a quiet yet definitive whine behind him. He turned again. Nothing. He continued to watch, reciting a prayer in his head. Kitty's eyebrow twitched as she wheezed again. Quatre almost fell over in shock. He stared in amazement. Kitty's body suddenly seized up and she arched her back as she coughed loudly, choking.
"Nurse!" Quatre screamed, running over, pulling the tube out of her nose and throwing it aside. Kitty's coughing fit continued. The nurse ran in.
"Oh my god!" she screeched as she ran over to the computer beside Kitty and began typing in instructions. Kitty's coughing ceased. Quatre bent over her. Her face was tight with pain. She whined again. Slowly but surely, two amazing midnight eyes opened, and blinked at the light. Quatre burst into tears again, on his knees with his face on Kitty's stomach. She blinked again and looked down.
"Qua..." she began hoarsely; sounding confused, but couldn't continue. Quatre got up and hugged her tightly. She whined at the compressing of her already tight chest. The nurse sighed.
"Her pneumonia is still severe, Master Winner, but... as it seems, she is recovering. Amazing..." Kitty pushed herself up weakly. She looked at Quatre as he wiped his face off again. She touched her forehead and squeaked.
"Wher! Wher?!" she cried out, falling into coughs. Quatre looked at her. He reached into his pocket and drew out a beautiful platinum headpiece of twisted metal and a rhombus diamond and sapphire teardrop. Kitty flopped back against the pillows in relief. She smiled as Quatre put her headpiece on. Quatre grinned.
"I made sure it was safe and sound for you. I kept it polished too, just in case you woke up." Kitty looked at Quatre.
"Woke?" she asked, getting the hang of her voice again. Quatre pulled out his pocket planner and showed Kitty the current page. February 22nd AC 196. Kitty started in the bed and blinked in amazement at the page.
"How?" she asked, her gorgeous eyes working overtime, glancing around her cubicle. She looked over Quatre's face and touched it gently with a hand. Quatre smiled and clasped her hand.
"You've been... asleep for the last five years, Kitten, times have changed." A tear fell down her face from her dark pools.
"You... changed..." she whispered, stroking his cheek with cold hands, "how?" Quatre smiled.
"I grew up," he said gently. Kitty looked over at the small TV the nurse had turned on as she went out.
"Winner Corps have made no comment on the completion of the new colonies. These colonies will be entirely self-sustaining. They will have their own atmosphere; sot here will be no encasing. The idea is believed to have dreamed up by a young Quatre Raberba Winner, the new leader of Winner Corps. The first of these colonies was built almost ten years ago, and has been a huge success. However, the new colonies may take some time to built due to the recent take over Winner Corps by Quatre Raberba Winner, the heir to the Winner fortune," Kitty looked questioningly at Quatre, "Due to the untimely death of the former executive Winner Senior late last year." Kitty wailed in horror and collapsed on Quatre in tears. He exhaled shakily and hugged his beloved little sister as she writhed and sobbed against his chest. At least, through it all, they were finally together again at last.