Chapter 2: "I have a declaration to make. A declaration of war…"

Blaze found her way to her room from the directions given to her. She dreaded having to face him again, but what must be done, must be done. She'd rather face Heero as opposed to having to go out on the streets again. When she opened the door, she found herself nose-to-barrel with his gun. She glared at him. "I'm sensing trust issues? Why do you want to shoot me?"

"You're a suspect. I have no idea who you are."

"Oh, so that gives you the right to kill me?" she asked with disbelief.

"In my book it does." his hand didn't waver, and he iced her with his eyes.

"That's an interesting sense of justice, there Heero."

"How do you know my name?"

"I heard them call you that while you were holding onto me. After all, I need to know the name of my new roommate." she smirked.

Heero's eyes widened and his hand wavered and lowered the gun slightly. "What??"

"Please don't make me repeat myself, I hate doing that." She walked into the room and started to make herself at home. Not like there was much to do. She did at least sit on her bed, after moving all of Heero's papers and clothes off of it. "Have you ever considered using the dresser they give you??" she asked.

He ignored her question and asked one of his own. "How did you convince Cavell to let you stay here?"

"I didn't do any convincing, really. I just answered his questions, and then his own pity did the rest."

"Hn. Weak human emotions. I would have killed you immediately." He sat down at his laptop. He had a message from Dr. J.

"I'm sure you would have." she replied. "So… I know your name is Heero…?" she paused.

"Yuy." he finished, as he started typing his response.

"Ah." she commented. "I'm Blaze."

"Blaze…?" he paused as well.

"Yeah. Blaze."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

He stopped typing, and glared at her. "You don't have a last name?"

"If I do, then I sure as hell don't know it…" she replied. "That's why I call myself Blaze."

Heero narrowed his eyes, the turned back to his laptop. "It must have taken you forever to think that one up."

She shot an icy glare at him. "You shouldn't be talking. I believe your name has already been used as well."

Heero stood up and faced her. "I thought you don't remember anything?"

"I don't remember myself. That's what amnesia is. I don't remember anything about who I am, or anything remotely connected to me, including things I might have learned before. But everyone knows that Heero Yuy was the leader of the colonies! That's like to know how to walk; no one forgets it. Geez…" Blaze rolled her eyes, and looked at him again. "You don't believe me do you?"

"No." he replied simply.

"So what are you going to do? Kill me??" she taunted, as she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

Heero pulled out his gun, pointing it at her chest. "That's not very smart, considering I have the weapon."

She glared at him, then smirked. "The only problem with you, is that you don't really know if I'm telling the truth or not. So if you do kill me, there's the possibility that I am actually innocent, and you would have killed someone who was harmless. How long would your conscience live with that? Or do you not have one?"

Tension was thick, but then was broken like a twig when there was a knock on the door. Heero, who was closest to the door, answered it. It was Howard, and he handed him a large black bag. "What's this for?" Heero asked.

"Her." Howard pointed past Heero's shoulder at Blaze.

"Hn." Heero replied, and shut the door. He threw the bag at her, and she caught it, setting it on her bed. Immediately she pulled out some clothes. She started to walk into the bathroom. "Where are you going?" Heero demanded, feeling their argument wasn't at an end.

"To take a shower, is that alright with you?? Lay off me, alright?" Blaze shot back. She slammed the door, and Heero rubbed his temples in frustration.

The shower was refreshing, something she worshipped now. She didn't take things like this for granted. Having a place to stay (despite the roommate) with a job made her life much happier. She closed her eyes as she showered, imagining the mysterious scars weren't there. For once she was happy, and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.

When she came out, Heero was watching the news as Dr. J. had requested him to for some strange reason. He didn't acknowledge her at all, as his attention was fully on the man on the screen. Soon Heero's puzzlement was solved. The man wore a blue uniform with a gold sash and the ESUN badge pinned onto it. What was left of his gray hair was pulled back into a thin ponytail. His ice green eyes were sharp and piercing, even through the television. Apparently the broadcast just started.

"It has come to my attention that we, as the 'Earth Sphere Unified Nations', have been compromised by the colonies of space. Ladies and gentlemen of the ESUN, we will be in battle engaging this declaration of war. War against the colonies. As the leader of the defensive armed forces of ESUN, I have the power bestowed upon me by the support from many representatives of numerous countries, whom agree that the previous battles have been caused by conflict between Earth and the Colonies. We cannot co-exist in this era of changes. It is time to end tolerance and treaties. The only solution is that one must be destroyed. Turmoil, blood, and chaos will endure until one is gone from existence.

Earth is man's home. It is where humans have prospered from, lived for and died for; it has been our home for generations and we would be lost without it. This leaves only one option, and that is to eliminate the space colonies.

My forces are strong, and concerning weaponry, there's an excess supply. We will prevail in battle, for the good of all mankind. All battles will cease after the problem is deleted from our way of life. Sleep well, fair citizens and dream of glory, and of victory, and of much awaited celebration for permanent peace in our futures."

Blaze sat down on the bed quickly next to Heero, as her legs gave way. She was stunned and confused. War? On the colonies? She knew about the history, but this was extremely unnecessary. What if she was from a colony?? What if she still had family on a colony?? She would lose them, and her key to her past as well. There was so much she didn't know, so much she still had to figure out. War? Again??

"Shit!" Heero muttered, and checked his laptop quickly. His fingers typed rapidly across the keys, but Blaze didn't hear it. She continued watching intently, as the news re-showed plenty of the speech, interviewed many people, and so on. So far, she had just learned that his name was Hampshire, President of the defensive negotiations system with the colonies. Apparently, he got tired of negotiations, and decided to turn many of the council to vote for war as a solution. Peace was no longer ruling.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Heero opened it. Blaze glanced at him, as he stepped out into the hall. Puzzled, she quietly stepped forward and listened.

"This is great. This is just freaking great," someone said. She recognized the voice as the braided one. What was his name? "This is just like Zechs, don't you think? This is like that 'one battle to end all battles' thing."

"Yes." said another, much quieter and very well reserved. Almost like Heero. "There is a slight case of déjà vu amidst."

"Well, whatever the case, we aren't supposed to take any action." This voice was slightly harsh and arrogant.

"Still, they should give us an order sometime soon…" a kind voice replied. "The colonies have no defense at all against something like that. I thought peace was established and settled."

"It looks as though little Peacecraft hasn't been doing her job," muttered the braided guy.

"You're wrong." Heero said. "She has been trying her best, but the council of ESUN and the colonial representatives aren't willing to listen to her. You should remember she's still our age."

"True." the calm one said.

Silence.

"What is it, Heero?" asked the kind voice.

The door was opened then, and Blaze leaned casually against the doorframe. "Hi!" she grinned. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I could hear the floorboards creak when you shifted, and I could see your shadow under the door."

"Ah, I see." She replied. Her eyes fell on four other guys which all stood in a half circle. Her eyes fell on the braided one.

"What is she doing here?!" demanded the Chinese one.

"Wow, I can see you were raised with manners…" she muttered. "a 'hello' would be the proper greeting."

"I remember you!" exclaimed the braided wonder.

"Yeah… I remember you too." She replied with a smirk.

"Hello, I'm Quatre Raberba Winner," said the blonde… the one with the kind voice. He shook her hand softly.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you. My name is Blaze." She smiled. "Who are the rest of you?"

"Trowa Barton."

"Duo Maxwell! I may run, I may hide, but I never tell a lie! That's me in a nutshell…" Duo grinned.

"Maxwell, shut up." The Chinese boy snapped. He turned his coal eyes on Blaze. "Chang, Wufei."

"Alright… now that you've all told me your names, I have to try and remember them." She rubbed the space between her eyes.

"Why were you listening to us?" Trowa asked with his arms crossed.

"Because I want to know what's going on. I am very confused." She confessed.

"Well, onna, you shouldn't be spying and it's none of your business." Wufei snapped.

She glared at him and put her hands on her hips. "Since when did wars become a PERSONAL affair??" she demanded.

"Stop it." Heero demanded. "We'll finish our discussion in the dining room. Blaze, you should go to bed. You probably need your rest."

She grinned at him. "Under any other circumstances, I would have actually thought you cared. But I know that you're only saying that so that I don't follow you guys into the dining room…"

"So take the hint, onna!" Wufei said.

"Bakana otoko!" she shot back.

Heero looked at her, slightly surprised. "You speak Japanese?"

She nodded, inspecting her nails. "Hai…y Espanol."

"Where'd you learn?" Duo asked.

Her eyes clouded over for a moment, as she tried to search her mind. Then her eyes fell, and she shrugged. "I don't remember. It's just something that's stuck in me, I guess…"

"Uh huh…" Heero muttered.

"Don't you have some place to be??" she snapped.

"We should go… we have a lot to discuss." Trowa cut in.

"Yeah… it's going to be a long night…" Quatre added.

The boys retreated down the stairs. Heero let his eyes linger on Blaze before he left. Blaze gave a long sigh of relief.

"Finally… they're gone," she whispered to herself. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it and slumping to the floor. She drew her knees up to her chest and put her head in her arms. "This is more difficult than I thought it would be," she muttered.

She had never meant for this to happen, of course. But the prospect of having a place to stay finally was wonderful. Of course now her paranoid roommate seemed to be a large enough con to bring down her mood and optimism. She was afraid. She wasn't sure what there was to be afraid of, but for one reason or another she was scared… and it had nothing to do with the prospect that Heero was willing to kill her. Something deep down inside of her just gave her a strong sense of foreboding. What if Heero found out something about her that she didn't know? How could she defend herself against a fact? A fact that she wasn't aware of? What if it was a fact that she wasn't ready to face yet?

* * * * * * * * * *

They all sat down at the dining room table. "So… what's going on?" Duo finally asked.

"I got an e-mail from Dr. J. telling me to watch the news-" Heero started.

Duo rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant! I mean with the chick! What's she doing there?"

"Her name is Blaze." Quatre corrected.

"I know that Q-man." Duo replied lightly. He poked Heero's arm. "So what's happenin'?"

Heero glared at him, debating whether to hit him or not. He finally gave a slight sigh in defeat. "She's my roommate."

"WHAT???" they all exclaimed.

"How long is that onna going to stay with you?!"

"I don't know." Heero admitted. "There's no limit, unfortunately."

"Wait, wait, wait… are you saying you don't like her?" Duo asked, wide-eyed.

"Of course I don't." Heero spat. "I don't even know who she is, baka."

"Well, I don't mean like that… but she does got the looks, and you're sharing a room with her…!!" Duo pointed out. "Do you understand the possibilities….??"

"Duo!" Quatre scolded.

Trowa shook his head. "Americans…"

Heero whacked Duo sharply across his head. "Ouch!! Hey, it was just an idea!!" Duo rubbed the back of his head to numb the pain, and winced.

"If we came down here to talk about girls, then I'm going back to bed…" Wufei threatened.

"That's NOT what we came down here for." Heero replied, and shot Duo a death glare. "As I was saying before Duo decided to add his two cents, was that I had only received an e-mail from Dr. J to watch the news, and afterwards to reframe from action."

"Why?" Quatre asked.

"Because there are some things that need to be looked into before we take that sort of action. He suspects that Hampshire is up to something… and we still need to talk to Relena." Heero said.

"Should we request a meeting with her?" Trowa asked.

"No. If I know any better, she'll come here before we even get a chance to contact her." Heero replied.

"Wow! Heero, did you just crack a joke??" Duo asked with amazement. Heero narrowed his eyes in a steady glare. "Okay, never mind."

They're conversation continued well into the night, until everyone decided there was nothing more to be said, and they each went to bed.

When Heero entered the room, the lights were still on but there was a sleeping someone under the covers of the bed next to him. His first instinct was to reach for his gun, but he paused in his actions. He furrowed his brow in a frown. He wasn't use to having someone else in his room. How was he suppose to go to sleep if he can hear someone else breathing next to him? He hated having a roommate, especially with a girl who has the attitude equivalent to Duo. 'Perhaps I could ask Trowa to switch places with me….?' he thought. Then he quickly threw away the idea. If he did ask help on such a small thing, then it would surely kill his Perfect Soldier title. Yup, he was going to have to tough this one out. Heero knew he was screwed. He dragged out a long sigh in defeat.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

AN: Bakana otoko means stupid man in Japanese ^_____^

Wufei: _ ggrr….