Kaci Kulekowski
[ChapterFlashback: We learn more about Heero's past and why
Drewmaud deserves to die...]
***
"So, do you think we should..."
"No."
"Yes."
Une looked between Duo and Quatre. "If," Quatre said, "Kami didn't want Heero at the hospital, why should we bring them both there?"
"But," Trowa interuppted the braided boy.
"He's right. We would only succeed in having them injured more if they were to try and escape."
"And besides," Sally cut in, "There are other people who are just as badly injured from the attack."
Duo slammed his coffee mug down on the table, once again spilling it. "But if we don't take them, they could get worse, or even die!"
Wufei agreed half-heartily as he wearily walked into the kitchen. Plopping himself heavily into a chair, he dropped his head on the table with a loud thud. "Itai (Ow)..." he moaned.
"Well that's what you get if you do that hard enough," Sally said, smiling.
"Woman, do not make me get up. I am not in the mood right now."
"What ever you say, Wuffers." Duo said, mimicking Sally's voice.
The Chinese boy's head snapped up and he growled. "Don't. You. Ever. Call. Me. That. Again. Do. You. Understand?" he asked through clenched teeth.
Duo gave a crooked smile. "Of course I understand, Wu-man. That just doesn't neccessarily mean I won't do it."
Wufei lunged across the table and almost had his hands around Deathscythe's pilot's throat when Trowa and Quatre grabbed him.
"Wufei," Sally said, pointing to the guest room. "Go on, the last thing we need is tension between ourselves." Wufei glared one last time, then wriggled his way out of Quatre and Trowa's arms. "And get some rest while you're at it," Sally added as he went up the stairs.
Then she turned to Duo. "I think you'd better go check on Heero..." He nodded
quickly and ran off.
***
"She's waking up." Quatre said. "Quick! Go get
Miss Sally."
Trowa nodded and left the room, leaving the blond pilot with Kami. The girl tossed her head to the side, facing the door and let out a small moan.
Quatre hoped she wouldn't start her delusions again as he dipped the rag in the bowl of ice water and wrung it out, placing it gently on her forehead. She was burning hot for some reason, and it was all he could do for the moment. He still didn't know how he would respond if it happened again. True, Trowa had taken her gun away again, and hid it in a safe spot, but Quatre was still worried. Kami had trained with Heero, was raised by and with soldiers. She wouldn't need a gun to kill someone, or at least seriously injure them.
Kami jerked her head again, and the washcloth fell off. Before Quatre could put back, shouts rang out in the hall.
"Sally! Sally!"
"Quick! Hurry!"
Quatre glanced at the girl, then rushed out of the room to find Trowa grappling Duo, who was trying to get into Heero's room.
"You can't go in there, Duo!" Trowa said as he pried the braided pilot's fingers away from the doorframe.
"But Heero!" He was on the verge of hysteria.
Quatre winced and went to help the tall Latin boy with Duo. "It happened again, didn't it?" he asked softly as Duo finally stopped struggling and fell limply to the floor, sobbing.
Trowa nodded gravely, his eyes narrow, and knelt on the floor next to Duo. Quatre quietly closed the door leading to Heero's room as Sally and Une tried to get him to breathe again and joined the other two pilots on the floor. He began rubbing Duo's back in small circles, hoping it would calm him down enough so he would be able to make it down the hall to the office, where he had been sleeping the past couple of days.
Quatre suppressed the urge to clutch at his heart, which had begun aching
once again as soon as he had heard the shouts. He had to be strong now, for
everyone.
***
Kami tossed and turned, trying to escape the pain that had
begun so suddenly. She woke up with a start and sat up quickly. Evidently, it
was too quickly and she fell back onto the bed, clutching her head with her good
hand. The other wrist was wrapped up in a splint, but at least it wasn't in a
sling.
Getting up again, but slowly this time, she heard voices in the hall. The door was wide open, as if someone had thrown it open, but the words were hushed and muffled. Making her way around the bed, she saw Trowa's green shirt move in a way that told her he had just stood up. But why would he be on the floor? she wondered. Then she saw Duo's braid swinging back and forth as Trowa helped up its owner.
Maxwell must have fallen, Kami thought, suppressing a chuckle, and went as quickly as she dared to the hallway, thinking she should help. Her ankles felt swollen, her back ached and her knees were weak. So by the time she made it to the hall, Trowa was already guiding Duo to the office, but Quatre was still there, sitting on the carpeted floor. He was doubled over, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.
Kami gasped and let out a ragged breath. It's not Drewmaud, it's not Drewmaud, she told herself and knelt down beside him. True, Quatre had blonde hair and blue eyes, like her trainer, but the man's hair was a shade darker, and his eyes were like ice, cold and heartless. In the short time she had spent with him, Kami had found that Quatre was caring, kind-hearted and friendly. The complete opposite of Drewmaud. She hated to see him like this.
"Daijoubou desu ka (Are you alright)?" she asked softly as she put a hand on his shoulder.
Quatre looked up, his eyes pained and teary. "Hai (Yes). Anata (You)?" he replied in a whisper.
"I've been better," she said smiling. "I didn't know you knew Japa--" She was cut off as her vision went black and a wave of nausea passed over her.
"Miss Kami, Miss Kami, are you alright?"
"Yeah... I," Once again, she stopped short as pain wove it's way through her still-sore body. "Niichan..." she said under her breath.
She hadn't meant it to be heard, but the blond had caught it and hung his head. "I, I'm not sure how he is..."
"He stopped breathing again, didn't he?" she asked, her voice so soft, Quatre had to strain to hear her.
"Yes, I think so... how'd you--" All of a sudden, Kami stood up, and used the newly-induced adrenaline to get herself into Heero's room.
Sally and Une were sitting there, on the edge of the bed, Heero laying ontop
of it quietly. The two women didn't even notice the girl until she had jumped up
onto the bed and curled up next to the dark haired pilot. Sally was about to
remark when Une shushed her and nodded towards the door. The last image they saw
of the two teens that day was Kami stroking Heero's hair, her head on his
shoulder.
***
"I don't know why this keeps happening." Sally said
solemnly at dinner that night. "My only guess is that he damaged his lungs in
the attack."
"But what if..." Quatre shook his head and then replied, "Ah, nevermind."
"What is it, Quatre?" Trowa asked, looking at the blonde.
"No, no, it's nothing, really."
"It has to be something, or you would never had said anything about it in the first place," Wufei said grouchily.
"Well," Quatre looked over at Duo, who had amazingly been quiet throughout the meal. " I think it has something to do with Kami."
Trowa nodded thoughtfully. Duo just stared at his food like he hadn't heard. Une spooned rice into her mouth and said polietly, "That could be it. What do you think, Sally?"
"Well, I suppose... but, how do you mean, Quatre? Kami's been in the other room the whole time."
"No, no, nothing like that." Quatre said quickly. "I meant, more indirectly, I suppose. Like, she knows something that we don't about him. Or visa versa." He paused, then continued, "And there's something else, too... Kami was unconcious when he first stopped breathing, but just now, she asked me if he had stopped again... So there has to be some sort of bond between them that we don't know about..."
"It's an idea at least." Une replied. They finished their meal in silence.
***
"Niichan... Niichan..." Kami called softly in her sleep.
Her dreams were of their past, hers and Heero's. She had finally gotten the memories that had hurt her so much before out of her head and now they were back, planning on haunting her until she would finally be able to forget them again, only to come back later and start the whole process over.
Most soldiers had nightmares about the war. The blood, the faces, the sleepless nights filled with the anxious awaiting of something foreboding. Not Kami. Instead, she remembered the times before that, when she was training to be a soldier. No matter how far she traveled, how long ago it became, the haunting memories never left her.
~~~Flashback~~~
Heero rolled over quietly, letting his eyes adjust to the
dark. "Imoto?" he asked softly.
The figure in the darkness paused. "Go back to sleep, Niichan. It's alright."
Eleven year-old Heero paid no heed and sat up. "What's wrong?"
"I told you, nothing's the matter. Now go back to sleep." Kami looked as if she was stuffing something in something else.
"It's three in the morning." Heero said, looking at the clock.
"I know."
"What are you doing up at three o' clock in the morning?"
"Leaving." came the answer from the darkness. Kami appeared in front of him, her ten year-old body covered in nothing but her thin night gown and a shawl. She didn't even have shoes.
Cabbi was stuck in his arms as she bent down to kiss Heero on the top of his head.
"You'll probably never see me again," she whispered. "You'll probably forget
all about me after a week, but, here, you can keep Cabbi. I won't be needing him
anymore." Then she turned and left, closing the door behind her softly, leaving
Heero and Cabbi alone together in the darkness.
~~~End Flashback~~~
"I never forgot you..." Kami whispered as she snuggled up closer to Heero's
sleeping form. The blackness drew her in again and this time, both of them
ceased holding on to the thin thread of life.
***
"We might have a
problem, guys." Sally said as she walked into the room. "Turns out, the pilot of
the plane that attacked this sector knew Heero and Kami from training."
"Drewmaud?" Trowa asked, worriedly, glancing at Quatre, who was up on the table being examined.
"No, we have reason to believe that it was someone their age." Une replied, coming up from behind Sally.
Quatre gave a half-hearted sigh, recieving a glare from the nurse taking his pulse. "Oops... sorry..." he chuckled nervously. "So is that good or bad?" asked the blond.
"Well," answered Une, "we're not sure yet. In a few more hours, we'll have the data needed to determine that. But for now," she added tersly, "you are to rest. We can't have you passing out in the hallways anymore." Quatre blushed noticeably.
Changing the subject, Trowa asked, "How's Heero and Kami doing, do you know?"
Sally sighed. "Well, they're both breathing, at least. It's too soon to tell about anything else."
"I don't understand, though. They seem perfectly fine, with the exception of a few minor injuries and of course, a couple broken bones..." Une trailed off as Quatre began breathing heavily again. His breaths came out raspy and he clutched his shirt with one hand, Trowa's sleeve with the other.
"Quatre? Quatre!" Trowa took the blond's shoulders in his hands and looked him straight in the face. "Quatre, what's wrong?"
"Kanashimi..." he managed to say before the nurse came back in, pushing his way through.
Sally and Une left Trowa with Quatre as they ran down the hall to the room Heero and Kami were sharing at the moment. The girl was fine, but they couldn't say the same for Heero.
The machines were beeping wildly and everything was going haywire. Une grabbed Heero's failing arms, as Sally not only turned off the machines, but also shouted out into the hallway for some help. Une quickly looked at the respirator, thinking he had stopped breathing yet again, but it was quite the opposite.
Heero struggled to stay awake as he fought against the respirator. His eyes were glazed over and seemed confused. "Heero, breathe with it," Sally said as she ran back to his bed and sat on the edge of it, patting his hand. A couple moments passed and she was able to remove the tube due to the fact that he could now breathe without it.
"Nani (What)... Doko desu ka (Where)...?"
"Shhh..." Sally said as a doctor came in. He looked over Heero quickly and waved it off.
"He'll be fine." The man left.
"But--" Heero stopped her by placing his hand on her arm.
"It's alright." He looked around. "I'm fine... but..."
"We're at the hospital, Heero," Une said.
He nodded slowly. "What happened? The last thing I remember was running with Kami..." His eyes grew wide. "Imoto (Little sister)? Daijoubou kanojo-wa desu ka (Is she alright)?"
"Yes, yes, she's fine." Une assured him. "She's right there." The woman waved to the bed beside him. He hadn't noticed it because of the partly pulled across partion between them. Sally yanked it back, and sure enough, Kami was there.
Her left wrist was in a splint and her hair was a mess, but other than that, she was fine. Heero let out a sigh of relief that startled him. He hadn't even known he had been holding his breath.
Laying back down, Heero asked, "So what kind of food is there around here?"
***
"C'mon," Quatre tugged Trowa's sleeve and headed down the hallway.
"Quatre, I really do believe you should take it easy for awhile," the tall boy replied, pulling back gently.
The blond turned and stared at him. "I know, but... Trowa, please? Can I just see them for a few minutes?" he pleaded.
Before Trowa could open his mouth, a braid came bouncing up. And with that braid came its owner and a grouchy looking Chinese boy.
"Q-man! Hey, had us worried there for a sec. You okay?" Duo asked, cheerfully.
"Yes, Duo, I'm fine."
"Good." Wufei said with a curt nod to greet the two. "That means we can leave."
"But, Fei-kun!" Duo whined.
"No, Maxwell. You promised me that you'd come back to the safe house with me as soon as you saw Winner. You saw Winner, so, let's go." Wufei grabbed Duo's arm and began walking away. "And it's Wufei, not anything else. Got it?"
"Yep. Bye!" Duo waved as Wufei continued dragging him down the hall. Quatre and Trowa could still hear him saying something about Heero as the two left.
"He seems better now, don't you think so, Trowa?" Quatre asked.
The tall boy watched Duo bug Wufei down the hall and smiled. "Like nothing
ever happened," he replied. "Come on," Trowa said after a few moments. Sighing,
he led Quatre to the room down the hall. Quatre smiled.
***
"No."
"But Heero,"
"No."
"Heero,"
"I said no. And I refuse to answer that question with anything but that."
"Heero," Sally recieved a glare. "We need--"
"I know. I heard you the first three times. And my answer is still no." Heero crossed his arms over his chest and sat there defiantly.
"But--"
"If he doesn't want to answer, then he won't. How many times must he say it for you to understand?" came a voice from the doorway. Sally and Une turned to see Trowa and Quatre.
"It's not a question of want. It's a question of life and death." Une said.
"What was it?" Quatre asked, making his way slowly to the edge of Kami's bed which he sat diligently on.
"Nothing of great importance." Heero said quickly, yet casually.
Sally glared at him. "I just asked if there were any other people who trained with them on L1."
"Well, he answered you." Trowa replied.
"So he did..." Une said softly after a few moments of silence.
"So," Quatre said cheerfully, clapping his hands. "What are--" He was cut off as Kami sat up and stared at him. "Oh! I'm sor--," Kami bolted out of the bed and ran out the door. "--ry..."
Heero sighed and got up to follow her, but Sally stopped him. "You need to rest, Heero." He was going to shake her off and go anyway when Trowa shook his head.
"I'll find her. Don't worry." Taking one last glance at Quatre and Heero, he
left the room in search of the fifteen year-old girl.
***
Panic surged
through her. Her first instinct was to run, and Heero had always told her to act
upon her emotions... or was it the other way around? Kami couldn't think. Her
mind was all in a blur. The last time she was in a hospital... Kami ran past the
front desk, going through a door marked 'Employees Only'.
As the door swung closed behind her, fear welled up inside her. Kami pushed it down and continued her flight through the darkness. It was a corrider with stacked boxes on both sides. No one noticed her. No one was even there.
Coming to a dead end, Kami skid to a stop. "So this'll end it all..." she whispered and pushed herself against the wall. Sliding down, coming to a position of her her knees beneath her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs. Kami made a whimpering sound. This was it. Drewmaud would find her again. And this time, the punishment would be more severe.
~~~Flashback~~~
Eleven year-old Kami crawled through the vent, her
nightgown getting caught under her knees. At the end of the vent, she could see
the bars of light shining in from the grate over her exit to the outside.
Kami carefully pushed the grate off and somersalted out of the vent. She replaced the covering and turned. Before she could start running, though, a large man appeared in front of her. It was the guard.
Kami ran off and he followed her, calling for back up on his two-way radio. Another guard appeared in front of the girl and grabbed her arms, pinning them by her side. She struggled, but to no avail. The men were four times her size and much stronger than she.
The guards got her back into the building and Doctor Jay came in. He glared down at her. "233846, I am most disappointed in you." The girl winced, hoping he wouldn't yell. Instead, he did something worse. He was silent. Several minutes passed by, and the guards left, to Doctor Jay's orders.
"I'm afraid we'll have to keep you in another part of the building. A more... secure... area..." In a few hours, Kami was in what resembled a jail cell. One bed, a simple, thin worn out blanket, bars on the door window. They even had stationed a guard outside the door. Inside, she was throwing herself repeatedly against the brick and cement wall.
"Heh." said one of the trainees, passing by. "She'll knock herself out in a couple minutes if she keeps that up." But she didn't.
Doctor Jay had called Drewmaud, who came quickly from spearing lessons and stared at the door to Kami's room silently. The he moved over and began unlocking the door, glaring at the guard when he tried to stop him.
"Aka, doko desu ka (Baby, where are you)?" he asked playfully as he stepped inside.
"Gone." came an answer from a shadowed corner.
"Whatever do you mean, Aka?" Drewmaud said smiling cruelly as he walked over to where she was huddled.
"I'm not your baby girl, 818937. I never was and never will be." she shot back.
"Oh, I think that's where you are wrong, 233846. As long as I'm alive, you'll always be under my thumb."
"Fine. I suppose I'll just have to kill you then. I wouldn't mind, really. Honestly, I want to kill you, anata chikusoga Musuko no teppo (you fucking son of a gun)."
"I'd like to see you try." Kami threw herself upon him, her short nails digging into his skin, long fingers pulling his hair so his head was firmly on the ground. With her left hand, she punched him several times, in the arm, face, stomach.
The man retaliated by grasping her arms above the elbows, bringing his knee up to her stomach and grabbed her hair, which had come out of the braid during her earlier adventures.
Their fight only ended when Doctor Jay walked in and shouted, "Enough!" then pulled them apart, tossing Kami aside. "What is the meaning of this, Drewmaud?"
"She jumped me as I was coming in." replied the blond as he got up and dusted himself off.
"That's not true!" Kami shouted defensively. "He's the one who started it!"
"Quiet!" Doctor Jay yelled, glaring at them both. "I don't care and didn't ask who started it, I asked why! Are you two so dumb you can't comprehend a simple question?"
Drewmaud snorted. "If anyone here is dumb," Kami said quietly, "it's not I."
"Quiet, girl." Drewmaud hissed.
"Make me." The blonde man leapt for her, but was cut short as Doctor Jay stepped in the way.
"Get out off my way, old man, or I'll kill you, too."
"I will not permit anymore of this nonsense! One more stunt like this and you both will be annihilated! Is that clear?!" Doctor Jay asked, shooting looks to kill at the both of them. Realizing he would actually kill them over this, the younger soldiers nodded solemnly. "Good." Doctor Jay walked away, handing a a leafet of papers to the guard who glanced at it and grinned wolfishly.
"I'll get you for this, girl." Drewmaud hissed and he too left.
Every night, the blonde soldier came into her room and they fought, sometimes with words, but mostly with their fists. After a few days, though, Drewmaud found the room empty. The guard always left at this time, so he couldn't ask about it.
Instead he went through the filing cabinets in a resricted area. The building was huge, and it would take several days to search it nonchalantly. Finding the papers he was looking for, he quickly skimmed through them. Smirking, Drewmaud left and headed to the furthest wing.
It was two in the morning. Kami was tired but couldn't go to sleep. It would look un-Perfect-Soldier-ly. She had to be strong now. Doctor Jay had brought her to a wing of the newly rebuilt building that she had never been to. But she had heard stories. The older officers told them to scare her and Heero, but she was never really frightened by them. But right now, sitting in the hard-backed metal chair with lights blazing all around, they seemed real enough to send shivers down her spine whenever someone passed by.
They had threatened to kill her, the commanding officers. She had recieved deaththreats, derogatory notes. She had found newpaper articles in her stuff, all about kidnappings, murders, and such. She knew that one day, the threats would no longer be threats, that they would become real, but she never thought it so soon.
Doctor Jay, the man who had raised her for the last nine years, came in. He
nodded curtly and she got up. Kami followed him to a room down the white washed
corrider. As she stepped inside, she knew exactly what would happen.
~~~End
Flashback~~~
Kami whimpered, pressing her back against the wall. She unconsciously rubbed her left wrist and realized that there was a splint on it. She was so scared, it didn't even register in her mind that she had hurt her wrist. She could feel the pain, now, but it was distant, far away, as if her mind and body were on different planes.
She was too worried about Drewmaud, though, to really care about the pain in her wrist, her side. She had woken up to Heero's voice, like she used to every morning. But when she opened her eyes, she heard someone else's voice and sat up straight, making sure someone hadn't tried to kill Heero again. There was, after all, the clapping sound that could have been from a silencer. And that was when she saw Drewmaud on her bed. For a split second, she froze, but he started to say something and she had ran. Heero had left her mind completely, all she could think of was the many ways she could kill the blond when she finally gathered up enough courage.
I should have killed him that one time, she thought, cradling her wrist to her chest, more for emotional comfort than physical. Kami heard soft footsteps down the hall, coming towards her. They were so soft, most people wouldn't have heard them, but then again, most people weren't trained to be Perfect Soldiers.
~~~Flashback~~~
Kami stared at the body of the guard. It was the only
way... shaking off the foreboding feeling of guilt, she grabbed the guard's keys
and ran off in search for her former partner.
Kami found Heero in the hanger, finishing up some work on the suit he had been using for the last couple of weeks. Just as she was about to go into the hanger, Drewmaud showed up. Kami backed into the corner, hidden in the shadows. She could hear and see everything even though they couldn't see her.
"So, 133847, how's it going?"
"Fine." Heero replied curtly.
"Guess what I heard?"
Heero sighed and put down his wrench. "I don't have time to listen to your gossip." he said as he reached for another tool.
"She tried to escape. They caught her."
Heero's head snapped up. "Nani (What)?"
Drewmaud smirked. "You heard me. Your little friend got caught escaping. You know what happens to turncoats."
"Hai. Hai, Watakushi suru. (Yes. Yes, I do)" Heero replied glumly, turning back to his work. "Itsu ni (When at)?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Drewmaud asked slyly. "For your information, it's already taken place."
Heero whirled around, his twelve year-old body moving with such deadly litheness, even Kami was surprised. "Bakayaro (Bastard)! It's your fault she's dead now, you know!"
Drewmaud smiled crookedly. "Yes, I know. And might I add that it was quite fun breaking her?"
Heero leapt at him, his trustworthy wrench in his hand. The two rolled off the suit onto the floor, not stopping. Even though Drewmaud was worn from all the nightly fights he had had with Kami, he still gained the upper hand, and pinned Heero to the floor. Drewmaud whipped out his knife and opened it with one hand and his teeth. Smiling, the blond ran the knife across the boy's collarbone, and down his arm, twisting it and turning it so the knife actually only broke the skin on his upper arm.
Kami gasped as a river of blood poured from the gash Drewmaud had just finished making. The older soldier began getting more daring everytime Heero's blood stained the blade of his knife. Soon, the twelve year old was barely conscious, his clothes soaked in his own blood, a puddle of red surrounding him. Drewmaud had the blade directly across Heero's neck when a wooden chair crashed ontop of him.
Drewmaud was stunned long enough for Kami to kick him in the stomach and pull Heero out from under him. The blond stood up, growling, as Heero wiped the small trickle of blood away from his split lip. Drewmaud swore under his breath when he realized he was looking straight into the barrel of Kami's gun. The one Doctor Jay had given her as soon as she had mastered her shooting skills. It was a Specials, and Doctor Jay had engraved a message into it's butt. Drewmaud smiled as he remembered what it said.
"To Operation Meteor Candidate number two. For successes unknown to anyone else, Doctor Jay." he recited. "How ironic that even if you did have the skills to carry out that mission, I'm afraid you'll never get the chance to find out what it is."
"I know what it is. I've read all the files about and relating to Operation Meteor." Kami hissed.
"How lucky for you, then, Aka."
"Don't confuse luck with skill." Kami said, cocking the gun. Heero had run off quickly to the suit to fetch his, which had fallen out of his pocket.
"I'm afraid then, you'll need alot of luck, seeing that you possess no skill whatsoever." Drewmaud said. He knew he was getting her angry, he was doing it on purpose. Anger blinded the mind in fights.
"Only those ill-prepared need luck, 818937." Kami said as she twisted around, not letting Drewmaud's foot kick her gun away as it lashed out. Pulling another knife from his boot, Drewmaud advanced onto her, as she fumbled with her gun, which had locked itself up. If she pulled the trigger, it would backfire - she hadn't been able to clean it in several days.
Drewmaud was unable to reply as a handful of shots rang out. They both ducked and then stood quickly, trying to figure out who had shot at them. Heero was standing there, barely able to support himself, his gun laying on the floor near his feet.
"Niichan?!" Kami asked, astounded. Heero shook his head noand then she realized there were five other people in the room. "Uh oh..."
Two of the guards led Drewmaud away as another one helped Heero to the
infiirmary. Doctor Jay and another guard led Kami to her room. This time, they
were going to kill her...
~~~End Flashback~~~
"Kami-san?" came a soft masculine voice. Only one person called her that.
"Barton?" she called out softly, her voice wavering. Trowa stepped up in front of her. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that the footsteps had stopped. Trowa knelt down next to her.
"Daijoubou desu ka (Are you alright)?" he asked quietly. Trowa thought that it would be better to talk to her in Japanese, since she seemed more relaxed with it.
"Hai (Yes)..." came the whispered reply. Kami had buried her head in her arms, which were wrapped around her chest-drawn knees.
Sighing, the tall Latin boy held out his hand. "Ikuzo (let's go), Heero's waiting." He only knew certain phrases and hoped she didn't mind his mixed sentences. She didn't, and got up, grasping his hand for support as her ribs caved in.
"Is it the one from before?" Trowa asked, leading her back to the room she shared with Heero. Kami nodded and paused, grimancing. Then she began to walk again, slowly. By the time they made it out of the 'Employees's Only' area, Kami was leaning against the wall, shuffling her feet forwards.
Trowa sighed and stopped, saying, "Menjo suru watakushi (Forgive me),
Kami-san," then gathered her up gently in his arms. Startled at first, Kami gave
no objection and wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. Leaning her
head against his shoulder, Kami fell asleep, exhausted.
***
"But you said
kanashimi." Une said.
"I know. I apologize. I meant kanashimi as in the Japanese word for sorrow. I forgot that that was Miss Kami's real name."
"No, it's not."
"What?" Quatre turned to Heero.
"It isn't her real name. It's just some thing Doctor J came up with when she was little to make her feel like she had a name. Like she was a real person. I don't even know her true identity..."
"But, I thought, you were brother and sister...?" Quatre trailed off as Trowa walked in, carrying Kami in his arms. The girl was fast asleep, her head on Trowa's shoulder and arms wrapped loosely around his neck.
"I think she broke her ankle," Trowa said to Sally. "She can barely stand."
"It's kind of hard to stand when you're not conscious, ne?" Sally said cheerfully, making her way over to the girl's bed, where Trowa was setting the girl down.
Quatre left hurriedly with Une, afraid that Kami'd run off again if she suddenly awoke and saw him. Heero glared at the Preventer. "That's not funny." he said monotonously.
"Sorry." Sally said quickly and went to tend to the girl, pulling the curtain back to divide the room. Heero looked at Trowa expectantly.
"Employee's hallway," he replied. "Sitting against a wall, mumbling something about..." Trowa trailed off, realizing Heero didn't yet know about the thing with Quatre and Drewmaud. "Heero..."
"What is it, Trowa?"
"Do, did you know any one by the name of Drewmaud?" Heero looked around the room, trying to slow his heartbeat at the same time. "Heero?" Trowa sat on the edge of the bed.
"Yes. I knew someone named that." Heero finally replied. "Why?"
Trowa thought about how he should 'spill the beans,' as they say. "She tried to kill Quatre, Heero, calling him Drewmaud." The Perfect Soldier stared at him, then closed his eyes and leaned back.
"Ch'kusho..." Heero swore under his breath.
"Heero...?" Trowa asked hesitantly.
"What is it?" he asked, not opening his eyes.
"Does '233846EMI' mean anything to you?"
Heero sat up straight, his Prussian blue eyes snapping open. "Nande (What was that)?"
"Does--"
"I heard what you said." Heero snapped. "Was, was it her?"
"Yeah... why?"
Trowa recieved no reply except for Heero leaping off the bed and rushing to the other one.
"Heero!?" Sally yelped, surprised. He didn't answer as he picked up Kami's wrist and ripped the velcro open on the splint. The girl's head turned as she woke up.
"Niichan?" she asked hopefully.
Heero glanced at her left wrist, and practically threw it back down. "Jigoku sono (The hell is that)?" he yelled.
The girl's emerald green eyes went wide and she hung her head. "Sumimasen... watashi yurusu (I'm sorry... forgive me)..."
"Yurusu anata (Forgive you)?" he shouted back. "Uso! Zettai ni yorusen (I can't believe this! By no means will I forgive you)!" he yelled.
"Iyaa usagai (Shut up)! It's not my fault, okay?! I didn't mean for it to..."
"Sou desu ka (That's true, isn't it)? Well guess what? It did."
"You don't really mean that, do you?" Kami asked, sitting up.
"Like hell I don't!" Heero shot back.
"Lin ja nai desu ka (Does it really matter)? I said I'd get out alive."
"Well, it matters to me!" Heero yelled. Lowing his voice to a whisper, he added, "How can you live with no mission, no purpose, when he's after you?"
"Niichan... please..."
"No. I'm sorry, I won't." Heero turned and walked out of the room. Sally left with him, not saying anything.
Trowa stood there akwardly, not knowing what to say or do. "He," Kami whispered, "He just doesn't understand..."
"Understand what?" Trowa asked softly, sitting on the edge of her bed, almost afraid of the answer.
Kami closed her eyes, sighing, and replied in a quiet voice, "I
can't..."
***
"Heero, I think you should give her another chance,"
Quatre said.
"Why? So she can kill us all?" asked the Perfect Soldier. Whatever humane feelings he had been beginning to show had completely diasappeared. Vanished with that one glance.
"Heero,"
"No. I will not risk your lives for my mistake."
"But she's your sister!" Quatre said, amazed that he'd actually think of such a thing.
"No she's not!" Heero yelled, standing up. "Kami may look like me in semblence, act like me in a war, but she is not my sister!"
"What do you mean?" Trowa asked, looking towards the door to see if anyone else was there to hear this conversasion.
"We were raised together by Doctor Jay." Heero said, seemingly calming down a bit. "Her older brother had died and she was five. I let her call me that because she was the first one who I thought I could trust. She risked her life for me dozens of times, as I her. But no matter how close we seemed to be before, it's over. She's not my sister and I will not have anything else to do with her." he stated.
Une intervened. "Heero, you can't just--"
"Yes, I can, I will, and I have."
"But they're just a bunch of numbers, Heero," Trowa said. "What significance could they possibly have?"
Heero sighed. "We don't have names because we aren't people. We are instruments used to complete missions. We are Perfect Soldiers. Without names, they had to call us something, so they gave us numbers..."
"Who's they?" Une asked.
"Doctor Jay and the others. The scientists, the doctors, professors." Heero closed his eyes. "When Kami escaped, they caught her, but didn't really do anything about it. The second time, though, they were going to kill her. By branding her wrist with her 'name', if she escaped again, the military could be alerted and search the entire colony for a girl with '233846EMI' on her left wrist." Heero held out his arm. Very faintly, they could see '133846ADI' tatooed there. "They put it on the outside layer of skin. It's simply a matter of cutting that layer off to erase it." Heero said.
Quatre swallowed. "But why 'EMI'?" he asked.
"It's part of her real name. Just like mine is Adin." Heero finished.
"But--"
"No," Heero said. "No more today..." Heero sat down in a chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
Quatre looked at Trowa, who shrugged. Une sighed and left as Sally came over. "Heero," she said, almost questioningly, flipping hurriedly through a sheaf of papers. Looking up, she saw the three boys just sitting there. "I,"
"We were just leaving." Trowa said, getting up and pulling a submissive Quatre in through the door, closing it behind them. Sally watched them leave and turned back to the Perfect Soldier.
"Heero, I wanted to discuss the test results with you..."
***
Heero
watched silently as Kami's chest moved up and down in a rythmic beat. She looked
almost peaceful when she slept, but Heero knew just what blood-lusting past hid
beneath. He knew just how heart-broken she was, and his leaving would just make
it worse, but he had to. Everyone knew he'd leave her, and they actually
believed he would. What they didn't know was how hard it'd be for him to do so.
Heero knew he had to, but he also knew he had to stay. For both of them.
"Niichan..." Kami whispered and curled up tighter in a ball. Her skin looked so pale, marred only by the darker scars of training. Heero, sighing, rose from his bed and crossed the room to hers. Gently, he pulled the sheet to her chin, and tucked it in around her.
True, she'd grown up as a soldier, could take care of herself, and had a decent job, but, Heero still felt like it was his duty to protect her, as if she really were his sister. So, she was more than a year younger than he was, that didn't matter. One of Quatre's twenty-nine sisters was two years older than he was and acted like the blond was only a small child. That's how Heero felt towards Kami. He had always been the one to protect her, take care of her, and now he was leaving her, alone.
It's her own fault, he thought to himself, trying to make the guilt weighing him down lift some. If she had been more careful when she left, if she never tried to leave at all, if she just accepted the way things were... this would never had happened.
Heero wondered if the situation would have played differently if she had told him. No matter what he thought about, who he tried to blame, how hard he told himself that it wasn't his fault, the more he realized it was. He shouldn't have gotten so mad before. Kami couldn't help getting caught like that, she was just trying to help him. That's one strike against him.
Heero could have helped her escape, could have escaped with her, strike two. He could have killed Drewmaud, killed Doctor Jay. Strike three. He should have told her about his own brand... Heero remembered how Trowa had explained it. The first time Kami had collaspsed, Trowa and Heero had basically taken care of her, with the help from Sally. Trowa had seen her wrist when they were taking her long sleeved shirt off to bandage the wound on her side. Long sleeved...
Heero realized that Kami had worn long sleeved shirts every time he saw her. She was trying to hide it. She didn't want them to know. But, Heero argued with himself, what if she didn't want to remember it? Everytime he so much as glanced at his own left wrist, painful memories came up that he didn't want to resurface. What if she was just trying to protect them?
Heero was torn between himself. One part wanted to believe that she had hid it from them to protect them, but the other side kept considering the worst case scenerios where she would help get them caught. He was torn between his human feelings and his soldierly instincts. Which should he trust in? He had always said to act upon your emotions, but he was having split feelings, mixed up emotions. Which would be the right one to trust in?
Kami moaned in her sleep, obviously in pain considering how rigid her body went. Heero went quietly into the small bathroom and came back out a few minutes later with a cool, wet rag and an ice pack. Sitting on the edge of her bed, Heero gently draped the pack across Kami's side, ontop of the gash she had gotten escaping from this very hospital. How ironic, Heero thought as he placed the washcloth on Kami's forehead.
Quatre had said that she had gotten a fever before, but right now, she seemed
to only be bothered by the broken wrist and the reopening gash on her side. Kami
slid deeper into the sheets as Heero laid down gently beside her. He had made up
his mind. In the morning, he would leave.
***
Kami woke up shivering. It
wasn't that it was too cold in the room, she had just had another nightmare.
Drewmaud was alive, she was sure of it. And he was coming to kill her, and
possibly Heero as well. Speaking of Heero...
Kami turned her head to see him laying on his side, facing her. His lips moved silently as he slept. Kami gave a small smile and managed to turn so she was facing him without disturbing him.
"Niichan," she whispered. "I'm so sorry..." Kami fingered his unruly bangs, her hand traveling down to his cheek where it paused for a moment before resting on his shoulder. She could see the faint white scar running down and across his collarbone, shoulder, and forearm. It was her fault Drewmaud had given it to him, just like it was her fault he would leave.
Kami sighed and pulled the white sheets up further, turning back away from Heero. Even though she wasn't cold, Heero had to be, dressed in black jeans and his green tank top. Smirking, Kami remembered how he used to always wear that tank with the same spandex shorts. She had always prefered turtlenecks and thick jeans herself.
What now, she asked herself as she sunk deep into the covers, pressing up against Heero. Kami knew she had to get out of the place, but she couldn't abandon Heero, even if he would her. Kami's breathing became erratic, but because she had made sure she wasn't hooked up to anything, no one came. Except for Heero.
"What's wrong?" he whispered in her ear. Her reply was a hestitated sigh. "It's alright..." he whispered, his arm snaking its way around her waist. Heero could feel her body tense up but eventually relax as he scooted closer and wrapped her in his arms.
"You're leaving today, aren't you?"
"Hai (Yes). But not without you..."
"N-nani (What)?" She turned her head to look at him. His Prussian blue eyes stared into her emerald green ones.
"You heard me..." He laid his head back down on the pillow, beckoning her to do the same.
"Niichan..."
"At noon," he whispered. "Trowa's gonna bring the truck around back." Kami shook her head sadly. "What?" Heero asked, afraid she would refuse.
"After all this time, you still can't speak proper English..."
Heero chuckled. "And you still don't trust anyone, do you?"
"I trust no one." Kami said, solemnly.
"You can trust them, Kami. Trowa, Duo, Wufei, Quatre. Even Sally..." "Hm?" Heero pulled her even closer to him.
"What about Une? She was with Trieze, wasn't she?" Kami asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes. To both questions. She is now the commanding officer of the Preventers." Heero answered, closing his eyes.
Kami sighed. "I'll try..." she said, and laid her head down next to Heero's,
a feeling of dejavu washing over her.
***
"Clear."
Kami and Heero snuck out of the room and walked briskly down the hall. Duo and Wufei were making so much racket with their bickering, the nurses didn't even notice as the two climbed out a window and onto the fire escape.
Kami and Heero, led by Quatre, made their way to the back of the hospital, where Trowa was waiting for them in his truck, which he had fixed.
"Quick, hurry," the blond whispered urgently, helping Kami into the truck's cab. She slid in next to Trowa and waited for Heero to sit beside her before she fell asleep. At least, that's what Quatre thought she was doing.
"I'll be right back, Heero. I have to go get Duo-kun and Fei-kun." Quatre disappeared behind the truck and made his way back into the hospital.
"Fei-kun?" Kami asked.
Trowa smiled. "You might not want to ask."
"I already did." the girl pointed out.
"Duo calls him that to get under his skin, and the name's sorta gotten stuck on all of us now." Heero explained quickly.
Kami smiled. "You did it again." she said. The brown haired boy glared at her.
Trowa looked between the two, as if asking what they were talking about. Kami grinned, "You might not want to ask." she said, repeating him. Trowa raised an eyebrow and shook his head, turning back to staring out the windshield. After a few more minutes, Quatre returned, with Duo gripping his arm tightly, and Wufei gripping the boy's braid just as tightly, if not tighter.
Kami could hear Duo's moans of protest. "Stop... please? Fei-kun, that hurts! Ow! Stop..."
Wufei was growling menacingly in his ear, so the others couldn't hear what he said, but Duo's eyes were wide and he was shaking his head frantically. Quatre opened the door and jerked his arm inside, causing Duo to almost fly into the truck. He landed on Heero's lap.
Heero looked at Duo, Duo looked back at Heero. Kami smirked, glancing between the two and turned to whisper something in Trowa's ear. He chuckled lightly and started the engine. Quatre crawled in next to Duo, who had manged to get seated in a vacant spot, and Wufei was left with the other window seat.
As soon as Wufei had shut the door, grumbling about the injustice of name-calling, Trowa hit the accelerator and the truck raced out of the parking lot. After a couple of minutes, Kami turned to Heero and whispered something in Japanese. He replied in Japanese as well in a hushed tone.
"Trowa, do you think you could slow it down a bit?" Heero asked. "It's not going to help us very much if we get arrested for speeding." Trowa thought for a moment, then nodded his approval and eased up on the gas.
"Not a man of many words, ne?" Kami asked softly. Trowa looked at her through the corner of his eye and the sides of his lips seemed to curl up slightly in a small smile. Kami smiled back and she and Heero conversed softly in Japanese, with Kami sneaking looks at Trowa every so often.
A few minutes away from the safehouse, Kami giggled loudly. Everyone turned to look at her and Heero, who had managed to actually blush. Kami turned to the boy driving and asked, "Trowa, will you laugh for me?"
Heero put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something. "Well why not?" Kami asked. "You said it was nice."
Duo laughed as Heero's face turned beet red. Trowa, too, had a pinkish glow across the bridge of his nose. Quatre whispered to Duo about being nice and Wufei sighed very heavily and banged his head repeatedly against the rolled up window.
"Fei-kun, why--"
"What did you just call me?!" Wufei asked, pausing in his pounding to glare at the girl.
Kami gave a nervous smile. "Fei-kun, I--"
"NO! MY NAME IS NOT FEI-KUN! IT IS NOT WUFFERS, WUWU, WUFFY, NOR WU-MAN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"Uh... yeah..." Kami said, smiling. "Don na ni anata iu (Whatever you say)... Fei-kun."
Wufei began banging his head harder on the window. "This is all your fault, Maxwell."
"Why is it my fault?" Duo asked, leaning over Quatre, who was talking to Heero, to poke the Chinese boy in the side with a pencil.
"Maxwell!" Wufei spun to face him and the two would have gotten into a physical fight if Trowa hadn't slammed on the brakes. They were all thrown forward, and when they recovered, both Heero and Kami had their guns trained on youngest two pilots.
"Say another word from here until we get there, and you will not be able to say anything ever again. Got it?" Kami asked. Wufei glared at her to be rewarded by the cocking of Heero's gun next to his ear.
"Got it." he grumbled, and crossed his arms across his chest and faced his window. Duo agreed, as cheerful as always and resumed talking to the blond sitting next to him. Heero and Kami put their guns away and Trowa began driving again.
"Trowa, didn't you take Kami's gun?" Quatre asked.
"Yes, I did." the tall boy replied.
"Then..."
"I have more than one gun, Winner." Kami said. "Just like I have more than one switchblade, know more than one way to kill a person with my bare hands, know more than one way to hack into a level six security computer file, more than one way to annihilate a military base... shall I continue?"
"Uh, no, no. That's quite alright, Kami, really." Quatre said hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't get into the details of murder.
Kami shrugged. "Level six?" Heero asked.
"Yup. You can hack into the file yourself, you can blackmail someone to do it for you, or you can just throw a pipe bomb at the computer and hope for the best." Heero was unable to respond because Trowa pulled the truck up behind the garage of Kami's safe house just then and they all filed out.
"I hope one of you brought the key with you." Kami said as she managed to crawl over Trowa and hop out of the truck.
"Maxwell has it." Wufei said glumly, opening his door.
"I do?" Duo asked, peering over Quatre's shoulder. "I thought you grabbed it."
Before yet another fight could occur, Kami held up a small metal stick. "I'll just have to pick it then." she said, "But, uh, Niichan..." Heero nodded and took his gun out. Kami knelt next to the back door and jiggled the knob, then inserted the pick into the keyhole and turned it. The tumblers finally gave and Kami jumped back as Heero hit the wall next to the door with the butt of his handgun. He waited for a moment before shrugging and turning the door knob.
"What was that for, Heero?" Quatre asked as they all filed into the house.
"Security system." Kami replied, taking a pocket knife and a flathead screwdriver out of a drawer in the kitchen. She went back outside and slipped the flathead under the board, prying it up. The pilots watched as a square piece came off. Inside was a mess of wires.
Kami picked through the wires and cut, connected, and mixed them before closing the hidden space. She went back inside, closing the door behind her and put the tools away. Kami sat on Heero's lap and rocked back and forth gently. Heero wrapped his arms around her waist. "Taikutsu... taikutsu... (bored... bored)" Kami said.
Heero smirked and tickled her side. "Iie (No)!" Kami double over in laughter. "Yamero! Iya! Yamero! (Stop! No! Stop!)"
Heero paused just long enough to push her off his lap and onto the floor. He sat ontop of her and the two started a tickle war, the others just watching, awed. Duo looked over at Quatre slyly and the blond barely had time to figure out what he was thinking when Duo started tickling him.
Trowa somehow ended up getting into it and he, Quatre and Heero teamed up against the braided boy and the girl. Wufei just sat there, with an eyebrow raised until Kami suddenly jumped into his lap and declared him base. "No!" Wufei was overtaken as the five of them, laughing, jumped on him. Soon it was no longer everyone against Chinese boy, but it had ended up with two teams. Kami, Heero, and Wufei were against Duo, Quatre, and Trowa.
Wufei and Trowa, though not seemingly wanting to be a part of it, were the ones to stay away from. They had managed to keep their training with them through all of it and were very good at catching everyone off guard. Quatre dissolved into giggles if you so much as looked at him, so no one tried to get him. They just looked at him and take a step forward and he would fall to the ground laughing.
Duo was probably the best, knowing just where, how, and when to get everyone. Heero was almost cruel, pushing his victims to the floor before sentencing them to at least five straight minutes of unforgiving, merciless tickling. Kami would get her victims backed up into a corner or up against a chair and sit there waiting for them to move before pouncing on them.
She had manged to grab a pillow from the couch in the den and was currently beating Heero over the head with it as he held Duo's braid in one hand and tickled him with the other one. Trowa and Wufei had surrounded Quatre, who was trying to help Duo. The braided boy had Trowa's ankle and the tall brunette was trying not to fall as Duo rubbed his fingers gently up and down the skin above the top of his boot.
The front door slammed shut and everyone paused. Sally appeared in the
kitchen doorway and stared at the six teens. "Uh..."
***
[Chapter Three
Finished]
[Chapter Four Teaser - Trowa's eyes went wide as Kami pulled out an
assortment of guns, grenades, bombs, and plastic explosives.]
***
This
chapter's dedicated to SY01. The answer to your question is: 'Watashi wa
wakari-masu nai' (I do not understand) or 'Wakari masen' (I do not know).
