GUNDAM--WING
LOST PROMISES
CHAPTER 4
DISCLAIMER and Writers' note:
Jessi-chan: Eheh...so many things we got to explain, but we don't know how to start....So we'll keep it short and simple.
Mae-chan: Just like always, we don't own the series, but we're still writing the fic!!
Jessi-chan: This fic is only for the enjoyment of Gundam fans everywhere and we're not making any money out of itsucks.
Mae-chan: We appreciate your support and positive comments for our first attemp fic *^_^* !!!!. Enjoy!
Reminder: This fan fiction has altered facts that may have a chance of happening in the storyline of the series. So please, do not bombard us with facts that the information are wrong and never existed in the series.
REVELATION OF FREEDOM
"So... It's almost time." Tetsuya muttered to Ayame, who was sitting not far from him.
"Three days from now. Exactly at midnight." Ayame continued, "It'll finally be over."
"Did you find the other two?" Tetsuya asked.
Ayame nodded.
"One is a new face.... The other is most definitely..." Ayame stood from her seat and took her bag off the table.
"Setsuko?"
"Yes." Ayame replied as she walked to the door, "I have to go. I'll be late for class."
The door closes and silence fills the room.
"... Just as you said Taebe, she's not improving at all..." Tetsuya blurted with a change of tone.
The laptop's screen blinks open and a woman about 18 years in age appeared. Her long black hair covered a part of the right side of her face and part of her right eye, which were in a color of carbon black.
"Four years after she woke up, she's still the same..... Maybe the nano- technology is messing up her personality...." she sighed.
"Are you sure the cause is not hanging out with you people?" Tetsuya asked sarcastically.
"We heard that!" a second screen opens and reveals a young girl that almost looks exactly like Ayame, except for her shorter hair and green eyes.
"Yo, Kiome-chan! How ya doin'?" Tetsuya smiled, "Lookin' pretty as always I see!"
"Sucking up won't get you out of this one, Midaki-kun..." Kiome frowned.
"Kiome, get out of here!" Taebe shouted.
"Yeah, yeah..." the second screen disappears.
".... Mou..." Taebe muttered angrily, "So, what are you planning to do now?"
"Well, in three days, we are all considered free... Sooo, I guess we go back to L-6." Tetsuya replied as he laid back his chair.
".... Are you sure it's smart to relax now? You only have three days to catch Leon's follower..... Not to mention that you still have those three to worry about."
"........."
"Nee, Tetsu?"
".... Nantoka naru." he calmly answered, not loosing his uppity tone of voice.
"Tetsu... What about..."
"Aya? Don't worry about her. I'll make sure she returns safely. I'm not going to let any of those three to influence her in anyway...well... Not unless it has a positive affect..."
"Aren't you being a bit over protective?"
"Nope...." Tetsuya plainly answered as his tone of voice suddenly turned serious, "Loosing Aya... goes against the oath I took and everything I believe in."
".... I understand what you feel.... But don't let those feelings bother you too much." Taebe advised, "Anyway, I gotta go. Bye, Tetsu."
Tetsuya smiled as the comm. link closed.
"YO! Ayame!!" Duo voice echoed from outside.
Tetsuya walked towards the window and watched the brunette with the braid approach Ayame, followed by a blonde boy. His emerald eyes deepened in concern as he caught sight of the third boy. The boy has wild brown hair and piercing eyes.
"Is that.... Odin's kid?" he muttered under his breath.
Heero senses the pair of eyes watching him and his comrades. He turned to the man standing by the open window of the room above them. Catching sight of each other, both of their reactions became cold as both leered at each other coldly. Heero turns away as Duo calls him.
"We're going to be late for class!" Duo shouted with the usual grin.
Heero turned back to the window, only to find that the man had already disappeared. He then decided to followed the other two silently, hiding what had just happened. The young 14-year-old girl didn't move from were she was as she stared up at where Tetsuya once stood.
"............."
"OI! Ayame!!" Duo called once again.
"... Urusai..." she muttered under her breath and followed them to the main building.
***********************
"Omezarashi, Ayame-san." Mai uttered in bewilderment.
Ayame and Duo turn to her.
"You're actually here for class."
".......... It's because I'm feeling better."
".... But still..." Mai uttered innocently, "It's weird."
Ayame frowned at her remark as Duo snickered at her reaction. Ayame suddenly notices the other pairs of eyes that watched her with disbelief. She stared at all of them coldly with her piercing chestnut eyes, making them flinch and turn the other way.
"You're all the same." she grumbled as she turned back to the open textbook on her desk.
****************
"Midaki, Tetsuya. Age 19. One of the youngest Commanders in the reserve OZ Forces." Heero uttered as he read the file that appeared in his laptop to Quatre who was standing by him.
Duo was lounging on the bed as he listens to the conversation.
"19, huh?" Duo grinned, "Almost the same as that Zechs guy."
Heero snorted at his remark.
"But it he's done a lot of strange things." Quatre added as he pointed at a certain section in the screen, "It says that in the past, he refused every offer the OZ officers had given him for a higher rank."
"The reason being?" Duo asked.
"That every rank they offer him is someone who works for OZ.... permanently." Quatre replied.
"So there was a chance that this guy was actually aware of the coup d'etat developing in the Federation government?"
"Most probably." Quatre continued, "But it gets even more interesting."
Duo sat up on the bed and turned to their direction.
"What?"
"His history with OZ doesn't start till A.C. 193. How could he have climbed up so far in the ranks within only two years? Ayame-san, in the other hand, has been with the Federation Army since A.C. 191 and she's still under the rank 'lieutenant'."
"That can't be right." Duo blurted, "Wouldn't that mean that Ayame has been with the army since she was 10?"
"......... That's what the files say."
"... Maybe that's why she's so corrupted," he muttered to himself, "Poor girl."
"Um.... Duo... That's besides the point...."
"Leave him." Heero interrupted, "You'll only waste your time."
**********************
"As much as Duo may wander from one topic to another.... He did have a point..." Quatre said to Heero, who was sitting on a bench outside the Boy's dorms, "That would mean Ayame would have worked for the Federation since she was 10..."
"Un." Heero merely replied with a slight nod.
"Then Ayame may have been adopted when she was younger."
"That's highly unlikely to be true." Heero interrupted.
"Eh?! W-What do you mean?" Quatre stuttered.
"No, it's nothing... Anyway, we should focus more on Midaki, Tetsuya's case." Heero got up from the bench and walked away.
"R-Right..." Quatre muttered and watched his companion leave.
*********************
Duo yawned and lay back on the railing.
"Man, this little mission is making me much more tired than usual..." he sighed.
"AH!" a voice blurted from across the room, "There you are!"
Mai smiled while she stood by the doorway of the school building's roof.
"Yo!" Duo greeted.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she approached him and sat beside him.
"I just came out to get some fresh air."
"Hmm.. I guess the classrooms can get a lil bit stuffy from all the tension and the noise."
"No, just the thought of going to class makes it annoying." Duo jokingly remarked.
Mai laughed and smiled at him.
"Hey, let's get something to eat in the caf."
"What's this? Are you asking me out on a date?" he grinned.
"Something like that." she laughed again, "But in friendly terms, k?"
"Let's go then."
*************************
Quatre didn't know why he ended up in front of Ayame's door. One minute he was just wandering outside, the next, he was in the girl's dorm. The door suddenly opens, as Quatre was about to turn tail and walk back to his room. He froze as she heard Ayame's voice.
"Oh! Quatre-san. What are you doing here?" she asked in her usual mono- toned voice.
"U-Uh.... W-W-e-ell." Quatre stuttered, stunned by Ayame's sudden appearence.
That same unnoticeable, small smile appeared on her face, seeing then the blonde young boy was completely at a loss for words. Her hair was in a loose ponytail as the hair on the side of her face slightly covers her cheeks. Her slender body was clearly shaped by the black tank top with the spaghetti straps with a short-sleeved white polo shirt over it and khaki pants that she was wearing. It was unusual to see Ayame in this sudden change of clothes. Usually, she would be wearing the school clothes and not the modern clothes young teenage girls wear.
"Since you're already here, why don't you come in?" she asked as she opened the door completely.
".... But I --" before he could finish, Ayame had grabbed his hand and led him in to the room.
"Take a seat." she said as she walked into the next room.
Quatre was bewildered by his surroundings as he took a seat by the small coffee table with two chairs by the window. The room was huge. It was almost the size of a fairly expensive hotel suite. There was a double size bed at one corner of the room with pinkish puple satin and cotton sheets and a small cabinet with a lamp on top of it by the bed. At the other corner was a closet in the wall. There was also another table, not to far from him with drawers. It also had some stacked up papers, some pens and pencils in a cup, a telephone, and a blue cerulean vase with purple irises elegantly arranged in them. The walls also had at least three paintings of beautiful scenarios hanging on them. There was also another door besides the opening to the next room. By the looks of it, it was a bathroom. The next room was actually a small kitchen. That wasn't too surprising, even his room and his companions' have one. This was one hell of a rich school.
"Would you like something to drink? Tea maybe?" she asked from the other room.
"U-Uh, sure! Thanks." he replied.
Not soon after, Ayame comes in with a tray, bearing a small teapot with two matching white porcelain cups, and two matching containers that had the sugar and milk. There was also a small plate of tea cookies and another with a sliced piece of lemon. She set them down on the coffee table, but opened the window first before she settled down to her seat. Somehow, this was all surprising to Quatre.
"Wow. I can't believe you went through so much trouble." he smiled.
"Being with the people I work for, I've learned to take responsibility in my own ways." Ayame said in return.
"Are you talking about the military?" Quatre asked.
"Sort of." she sighed, "Since I'm a lieutenant, I have higher authority than those who are usually with me. I've somehow developed a sibling complex towards the people around me. Even the commander, I feel like I have to take care of him as well. Isn't it weird?"
Quatre smiled.
"Not at all. I think that's very sweet of you." he replied.
Ayame frowned.
"What do you mean 'sweet'?" she asked.
"Wars usually can bring the worst out of soldiers and even normal people, but with you around, I think they're glad they still have an anchor to reality."
"... I hope not." she sighed again, "I don't know how much of this war I can handle." her eyes deepened in color, "Sooner or later, I might go mad as well."
"... Ayame...." he muttered in concern as he stared at her solemn face.
".... What are you looking at? We better hurry up before the tea gets cold." she blurted in a lighter tone of voice.
"Y-Yes, I guess we should." he laughed.
He took a sip of the tea only noticing a few signs of disappearing scars all over Ayame's hands. Ayame saw his gaze placed upon them and slowly wrapped one hand over the other to cover the scars.
"T-This is really good." Quatre said, trying to change the subject.
"Really? Thanks." she said as that same small smile appeared on her face.
"That face again...." she thought, "How come I can't stop staring at him? Why do I feel like I've seen him before?"
"By, the way." Quatre uttered suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"This room is really big compared to the ones we have." he gestured at the space in the room.
"It's the reward of being an OZ officer." she said in somewhat of a depressing tone.
"Something bothering you?" Quatre asked.
"... No." she replied, "What makes you think that?"
Quatre noticed her hesitation. He then said something that shocked himself. Just by saying it, he wanted to kick himself for just doing so.
"You're not happy about working for OZ are you?" his mouth automatically asked.
It was just something he was thinking in his mind and had eventually escaped his mouth by accident. Her eyes deepened once again as she heard his words.
"I-I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean to ask such a thi--" Quatre stuttered.
"It's alright." Ayame interrupted, "You are right. I never wanted to work for the Federation, or OZ. I just wanted to stay back home where the people I grew up with are."
She was watching the reflection of the ceiling on the surface of the tea in her cup as Quatre sat there silently, in shock of her reply.
"But it wasn't like that so, I thought that with a little endurance, I can go through this momentary hell and return to them. As always, I was wrong." she muttered in her deadpan voice, "That 'momentary hell' ended up being 4 years of killing and being used by others."
"........."
"But it will soon be over. In three days.... Exactly at midnight." she sighed in slight relief, "I can't wait to go home and see them all again..."
Quatre was silent as he just sat there, watching her unemotional face as her pale skin was high-lighted by the light entering from the window. The loose hair from her pony-tail was gently swaying with the breeze. It felt like one of those peaceful moments... But it was like the ones that you wish would never end. Quatre felt his heart beating loudly, loud enough to muffle his ears. He found a new perspective for her, a type of higher respect, much better than just being a friend to confide in. This girl… This angel with darkened wings… This.... Ayame.... was more than meets the eye. She has secrets greater than anyone he's known… maybe even more than Heero. He wanted to know her. He wanted to know what those secrets were, and maybe.... just maybe.... be the one to make that missing smile appear upon her face for good and not like the momentary ones she usually has.
-------------------------------------------
A small grin appeared on Tetsuya's mouth as he caught sight of the two conversing by the open window. He turned back towards the direction he just came from and took out a cell phone out of his jacket.
"Yo, Taebe." he said in a malicious tone to the person on the other line, "I got news for you..... No, not about that! Yeah...It's already been confirmed.... Something quite interesting.... It's not just Odin's kid after all...The Maxwell boy and Mr. Winner's boy...There isn't any problems yet."
He stopped and laid back on one of the trees in the school grounds to get away from the hot sun that shone above the sky.
"Heh, no. They're not getting in the way, not mine's anyway...It's interesting...You sure you want to know?......" he took one last glimpse on the open window as his grin grew wider, "Well then, guess who's hitting on Aya..."
***********************
Ayame got up from her bed and walked towards the window. She stared at the view outside in silence.
"... Two more days...." she thought.
Her pondering was interrupted when the phone on the desk suddenly rang. She answered it immediately.
"Yes... Tetsuya.... I see... Right now? All right.... I'll be right there."
She hung up the phone and walked to the closet. She opened it and took out her military uniform as her eyes once again deepened as she stared at it in her arms.
-------
"You're not happy about working for OZ are you?"
"... No. What makes you think that?"
-------
Her conversation with Quatre yesterday echoed in her mind as she also began to wonder herself.
"... If you hated working for OZ, why didn't you leave in the first place?" she asked herself.
She returned to the window as she heard a flapping sound outside and placed the uniform on top of the coffee table. She opened the window slowly; trying not to scare whatever was there. Beneath the windowsill was a white dove, lounging on the ledge. It caught site of the new presence above it and flew on to the window's ledge, right in front of Ayame. She gazed at it in silence.
"... Ohayo." she greeted in her deadpan voice as she took the white creature in to her hands, "You're a brave one.... You're not afraid of humans at all..."
The dove stared at her and its new surrounding in wonderment. Ayame held her hands out, with the dove, outside as the creature flew off in to the infinite sky. The sad look in her eyes returned as she saw the bird fly in to the heavens.
"... I wish I am as free as you are...." she muttered as the figure of the white gentle creature disappeared in to the distance.
-----------------------------
Mai watched the three boys silently from her room's window. The three were eventually conversing not too far from the girls' dorms and by the looks on their faces; they were talking about something serious.
"Mai Ann, try to pay more attention to your work." a voice from within the room called.
There was another woman in her room. She looks like she's about 18 or 19 and she wore the uniform for senior students. She has dirty blonde hair and deep amber eyes.
"Yes, sis." she muttered taking one last glimpse on the trio.
The young woman took note of that and smiled.
"Do you like one of those boys?" she asked.
"Elena-neesan!!" she shouted as her face completely turned red.
Elena giggled.
"Sooo….Which one of the three is it?"
"Shigau!! I'm concerned!"
"Concerned?" Elena asked, "About what?"
"... Quatre Raberba Winner.... Isn't he the heir of the Winner family?"
Elena frowned in relation of the youngster's words.
"...It's been bothering me for awhile now.... But why is the next head of the Winner family here?" Mai questioned, "Is he and the other two here for her?"
The older woman turned to the direction of where the three boys were.
"... Probably.... But I hope not..." Elena muttered.
"... Sis.."
"... The last thing we need is to get included with this war permanently..."
Mai joined her companion's gaze out the window.
".... Sou nee..."
---------------------------------------------
"So you didn't find anything out?" Duo asked.
Quatre shook his head in response.
"None what so ever.."
"... Do you know anyone who may be connected to her?" Heero asked the two.
"... There's that Elena person." Quatre suggested.
"And then, there's that creepy black haired guy who hangs out with her sometimes. That Tetsuya guy." Duo added.
Heero somehow flinched a little at what Duo had just said, but not small enough to go unnoticed.
"Doshitano, Heero?" Quatre asked in concern.
".... It's nothing." he replied.
"Really now, Heero. I'm hurt." a voice remarked behind them.
All eyes turn to the figure not too far from them. Tetsuya wore malicious grin on his face as he approached the group.
"What do you want?" Duo asked just as Tetsuya stopped about two meters away from him.
"Nothing really. I just thought it would be nice to have a little walk outside… but then…" he paused, keeping that impish smile, "I saw you three, hanging about. So now, I'm just wondering what a bunch of Gundam pilots, like you, are doing here." He casually replied.
Duo and Quatre seemed shocked at what this stranger had just uttered. Heero in the other hand only bared the look of hate for this man.
"I have a question myself." Heero interrupted.
"What?" Tetsuya turned to him.
"Why are you and Machiro here?"
A pause came between the two as Quatre and Duo watched them without a clue what the hell was going on.
"... Classified information." Tetsuya blurted, "... Try not to come near her too much. Jinnai might get angry."
He winked at them then casually walked away.
"Aw, man. This guy is starting to annoy me." Duo frowned.
"Is it all right if I ask? Or is it best for me not to know?" Quatre said to their brooding companion.
"Ever heard of the Solarian Government?" Heero asked.
"That's the government that was in control of the L6 and 7 colonies about 60 to 80 years ago... but it was destroyed by the earth alliance after they declared independence from the present earth government. But even at that… there hasn't been much about the real history behind it. Like, who started the war, or who lead the movement for independence… But undoubtedly, that government was destroyed."
"That's a lie... The Solarian government still exists..."
"W-What?!!"
"The Solarian government still exists in the L6 colonies... as well as the remnants of the L7 colonies..."
"Remenants... the L7 colonies were destroyed in that war... are still…" Quatre muttered.
"The L7 colonies ARE gone from orbit... during the war, they crashed into the closest planet... Which was Mars.." Heero frowned as he turned towards the direction Tetsuya Midaki had taken.
"..Midaki, Tetsuya..." Heero muttered in his mono-toned voice, "I met him before..."
"Obviously..." Duo cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Heero, "He seemed typically familiar with you. He seems to know us too. But what I don't understand is if you knew him in the first place, why didn't you tell us?"
"I don't know him as well as you think... When I was younger.. I met someone by the name of Midaki, Kaworu. That man was Kaworu's older brother."
"Was?" Quatre asked.
"I recently heard that Kaworu died about 2 years ago. Tetsuya was already a Lt. when I met him. Kaworu was an intelligence officer. That was such a long time ago.."
"Heero..."
"... Even that girl was still alive back then..." he whispered under his breath, but loud enough for his two companions to hear.
They stared at Heero in concern as silence gloomed over the air.
***
"Looks like everything's going according to plan..." Tetsuya grinned as he watched the three 15 year olds at a safe distance away.
"It'll only be awhile till everything ends..." another figure with a feminine voice, who stood by Tetsuya, muttered.
"Yeah.. You're right. This is our final gift for the kindness Earth and its people gave us... And after that... We'll be free."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Jessi-chan and Mae-chan: *together* OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!
Jessi-chan: *snicker* Heero has a secret! Heero has a secret!
Mae-chan: That's nothing new though!
Jessi-chan: Anywhooo~ Read the next one for the continuation!! Bye-bye!
END
LOST PROMISES
CHAPTER 4
DISCLAIMER and Writers' note:
Jessi-chan: Eheh...so many things we got to explain, but we don't know how to start....So we'll keep it short and simple.
Mae-chan: Just like always, we don't own the series, but we're still writing the fic!!
Jessi-chan: This fic is only for the enjoyment of Gundam fans everywhere and we're not making any money out of itsucks.
Mae-chan: We appreciate your support and positive comments for our first attemp fic *^_^* !!!!. Enjoy!
Reminder: This fan fiction has altered facts that may have a chance of happening in the storyline of the series. So please, do not bombard us with facts that the information are wrong and never existed in the series.
REVELATION OF FREEDOM
"So... It's almost time." Tetsuya muttered to Ayame, who was sitting not far from him.
"Three days from now. Exactly at midnight." Ayame continued, "It'll finally be over."
"Did you find the other two?" Tetsuya asked.
Ayame nodded.
"One is a new face.... The other is most definitely..." Ayame stood from her seat and took her bag off the table.
"Setsuko?"
"Yes." Ayame replied as she walked to the door, "I have to go. I'll be late for class."
The door closes and silence fills the room.
"... Just as you said Taebe, she's not improving at all..." Tetsuya blurted with a change of tone.
The laptop's screen blinks open and a woman about 18 years in age appeared. Her long black hair covered a part of the right side of her face and part of her right eye, which were in a color of carbon black.
"Four years after she woke up, she's still the same..... Maybe the nano- technology is messing up her personality...." she sighed.
"Are you sure the cause is not hanging out with you people?" Tetsuya asked sarcastically.
"We heard that!" a second screen opens and reveals a young girl that almost looks exactly like Ayame, except for her shorter hair and green eyes.
"Yo, Kiome-chan! How ya doin'?" Tetsuya smiled, "Lookin' pretty as always I see!"
"Sucking up won't get you out of this one, Midaki-kun..." Kiome frowned.
"Kiome, get out of here!" Taebe shouted.
"Yeah, yeah..." the second screen disappears.
".... Mou..." Taebe muttered angrily, "So, what are you planning to do now?"
"Well, in three days, we are all considered free... Sooo, I guess we go back to L-6." Tetsuya replied as he laid back his chair.
".... Are you sure it's smart to relax now? You only have three days to catch Leon's follower..... Not to mention that you still have those three to worry about."
"........."
"Nee, Tetsu?"
".... Nantoka naru." he calmly answered, not loosing his uppity tone of voice.
"Tetsu... What about..."
"Aya? Don't worry about her. I'll make sure she returns safely. I'm not going to let any of those three to influence her in anyway...well... Not unless it has a positive affect..."
"Aren't you being a bit over protective?"
"Nope...." Tetsuya plainly answered as his tone of voice suddenly turned serious, "Loosing Aya... goes against the oath I took and everything I believe in."
".... I understand what you feel.... But don't let those feelings bother you too much." Taebe advised, "Anyway, I gotta go. Bye, Tetsu."
Tetsuya smiled as the comm. link closed.
"YO! Ayame!!" Duo voice echoed from outside.
Tetsuya walked towards the window and watched the brunette with the braid approach Ayame, followed by a blonde boy. His emerald eyes deepened in concern as he caught sight of the third boy. The boy has wild brown hair and piercing eyes.
"Is that.... Odin's kid?" he muttered under his breath.
Heero senses the pair of eyes watching him and his comrades. He turned to the man standing by the open window of the room above them. Catching sight of each other, both of their reactions became cold as both leered at each other coldly. Heero turns away as Duo calls him.
"We're going to be late for class!" Duo shouted with the usual grin.
Heero turned back to the window, only to find that the man had already disappeared. He then decided to followed the other two silently, hiding what had just happened. The young 14-year-old girl didn't move from were she was as she stared up at where Tetsuya once stood.
"............."
"OI! Ayame!!" Duo called once again.
"... Urusai..." she muttered under her breath and followed them to the main building.
***********************
"Omezarashi, Ayame-san." Mai uttered in bewilderment.
Ayame and Duo turn to her.
"You're actually here for class."
".......... It's because I'm feeling better."
".... But still..." Mai uttered innocently, "It's weird."
Ayame frowned at her remark as Duo snickered at her reaction. Ayame suddenly notices the other pairs of eyes that watched her with disbelief. She stared at all of them coldly with her piercing chestnut eyes, making them flinch and turn the other way.
"You're all the same." she grumbled as she turned back to the open textbook on her desk.
****************
"Midaki, Tetsuya. Age 19. One of the youngest Commanders in the reserve OZ Forces." Heero uttered as he read the file that appeared in his laptop to Quatre who was standing by him.
Duo was lounging on the bed as he listens to the conversation.
"19, huh?" Duo grinned, "Almost the same as that Zechs guy."
Heero snorted at his remark.
"But it he's done a lot of strange things." Quatre added as he pointed at a certain section in the screen, "It says that in the past, he refused every offer the OZ officers had given him for a higher rank."
"The reason being?" Duo asked.
"That every rank they offer him is someone who works for OZ.... permanently." Quatre replied.
"So there was a chance that this guy was actually aware of the coup d'etat developing in the Federation government?"
"Most probably." Quatre continued, "But it gets even more interesting."
Duo sat up on the bed and turned to their direction.
"What?"
"His history with OZ doesn't start till A.C. 193. How could he have climbed up so far in the ranks within only two years? Ayame-san, in the other hand, has been with the Federation Army since A.C. 191 and she's still under the rank 'lieutenant'."
"That can't be right." Duo blurted, "Wouldn't that mean that Ayame has been with the army since she was 10?"
"......... That's what the files say."
"... Maybe that's why she's so corrupted," he muttered to himself, "Poor girl."
"Um.... Duo... That's besides the point...."
"Leave him." Heero interrupted, "You'll only waste your time."
**********************
"As much as Duo may wander from one topic to another.... He did have a point..." Quatre said to Heero, who was sitting on a bench outside the Boy's dorms, "That would mean Ayame would have worked for the Federation since she was 10..."
"Un." Heero merely replied with a slight nod.
"Then Ayame may have been adopted when she was younger."
"That's highly unlikely to be true." Heero interrupted.
"Eh?! W-What do you mean?" Quatre stuttered.
"No, it's nothing... Anyway, we should focus more on Midaki, Tetsuya's case." Heero got up from the bench and walked away.
"R-Right..." Quatre muttered and watched his companion leave.
*********************
Duo yawned and lay back on the railing.
"Man, this little mission is making me much more tired than usual..." he sighed.
"AH!" a voice blurted from across the room, "There you are!"
Mai smiled while she stood by the doorway of the school building's roof.
"Yo!" Duo greeted.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she approached him and sat beside him.
"I just came out to get some fresh air."
"Hmm.. I guess the classrooms can get a lil bit stuffy from all the tension and the noise."
"No, just the thought of going to class makes it annoying." Duo jokingly remarked.
Mai laughed and smiled at him.
"Hey, let's get something to eat in the caf."
"What's this? Are you asking me out on a date?" he grinned.
"Something like that." she laughed again, "But in friendly terms, k?"
"Let's go then."
*************************
Quatre didn't know why he ended up in front of Ayame's door. One minute he was just wandering outside, the next, he was in the girl's dorm. The door suddenly opens, as Quatre was about to turn tail and walk back to his room. He froze as she heard Ayame's voice.
"Oh! Quatre-san. What are you doing here?" she asked in her usual mono- toned voice.
"U-Uh.... W-W-e-ell." Quatre stuttered, stunned by Ayame's sudden appearence.
That same unnoticeable, small smile appeared on her face, seeing then the blonde young boy was completely at a loss for words. Her hair was in a loose ponytail as the hair on the side of her face slightly covers her cheeks. Her slender body was clearly shaped by the black tank top with the spaghetti straps with a short-sleeved white polo shirt over it and khaki pants that she was wearing. It was unusual to see Ayame in this sudden change of clothes. Usually, she would be wearing the school clothes and not the modern clothes young teenage girls wear.
"Since you're already here, why don't you come in?" she asked as she opened the door completely.
".... But I --" before he could finish, Ayame had grabbed his hand and led him in to the room.
"Take a seat." she said as she walked into the next room.
Quatre was bewildered by his surroundings as he took a seat by the small coffee table with two chairs by the window. The room was huge. It was almost the size of a fairly expensive hotel suite. There was a double size bed at one corner of the room with pinkish puple satin and cotton sheets and a small cabinet with a lamp on top of it by the bed. At the other corner was a closet in the wall. There was also another table, not to far from him with drawers. It also had some stacked up papers, some pens and pencils in a cup, a telephone, and a blue cerulean vase with purple irises elegantly arranged in them. The walls also had at least three paintings of beautiful scenarios hanging on them. There was also another door besides the opening to the next room. By the looks of it, it was a bathroom. The next room was actually a small kitchen. That wasn't too surprising, even his room and his companions' have one. This was one hell of a rich school.
"Would you like something to drink? Tea maybe?" she asked from the other room.
"U-Uh, sure! Thanks." he replied.
Not soon after, Ayame comes in with a tray, bearing a small teapot with two matching white porcelain cups, and two matching containers that had the sugar and milk. There was also a small plate of tea cookies and another with a sliced piece of lemon. She set them down on the coffee table, but opened the window first before she settled down to her seat. Somehow, this was all surprising to Quatre.
"Wow. I can't believe you went through so much trouble." he smiled.
"Being with the people I work for, I've learned to take responsibility in my own ways." Ayame said in return.
"Are you talking about the military?" Quatre asked.
"Sort of." she sighed, "Since I'm a lieutenant, I have higher authority than those who are usually with me. I've somehow developed a sibling complex towards the people around me. Even the commander, I feel like I have to take care of him as well. Isn't it weird?"
Quatre smiled.
"Not at all. I think that's very sweet of you." he replied.
Ayame frowned.
"What do you mean 'sweet'?" she asked.
"Wars usually can bring the worst out of soldiers and even normal people, but with you around, I think they're glad they still have an anchor to reality."
"... I hope not." she sighed again, "I don't know how much of this war I can handle." her eyes deepened in color, "Sooner or later, I might go mad as well."
"... Ayame...." he muttered in concern as he stared at her solemn face.
".... What are you looking at? We better hurry up before the tea gets cold." she blurted in a lighter tone of voice.
"Y-Yes, I guess we should." he laughed.
He took a sip of the tea only noticing a few signs of disappearing scars all over Ayame's hands. Ayame saw his gaze placed upon them and slowly wrapped one hand over the other to cover the scars.
"T-This is really good." Quatre said, trying to change the subject.
"Really? Thanks." she said as that same small smile appeared on her face.
"That face again...." she thought, "How come I can't stop staring at him? Why do I feel like I've seen him before?"
"By, the way." Quatre uttered suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"This room is really big compared to the ones we have." he gestured at the space in the room.
"It's the reward of being an OZ officer." she said in somewhat of a depressing tone.
"Something bothering you?" Quatre asked.
"... No." she replied, "What makes you think that?"
Quatre noticed her hesitation. He then said something that shocked himself. Just by saying it, he wanted to kick himself for just doing so.
"You're not happy about working for OZ are you?" his mouth automatically asked.
It was just something he was thinking in his mind and had eventually escaped his mouth by accident. Her eyes deepened once again as she heard his words.
"I-I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean to ask such a thi--" Quatre stuttered.
"It's alright." Ayame interrupted, "You are right. I never wanted to work for the Federation, or OZ. I just wanted to stay back home where the people I grew up with are."
She was watching the reflection of the ceiling on the surface of the tea in her cup as Quatre sat there silently, in shock of her reply.
"But it wasn't like that so, I thought that with a little endurance, I can go through this momentary hell and return to them. As always, I was wrong." she muttered in her deadpan voice, "That 'momentary hell' ended up being 4 years of killing and being used by others."
"........."
"But it will soon be over. In three days.... Exactly at midnight." she sighed in slight relief, "I can't wait to go home and see them all again..."
Quatre was silent as he just sat there, watching her unemotional face as her pale skin was high-lighted by the light entering from the window. The loose hair from her pony-tail was gently swaying with the breeze. It felt like one of those peaceful moments... But it was like the ones that you wish would never end. Quatre felt his heart beating loudly, loud enough to muffle his ears. He found a new perspective for her, a type of higher respect, much better than just being a friend to confide in. This girl… This angel with darkened wings… This.... Ayame.... was more than meets the eye. She has secrets greater than anyone he's known… maybe even more than Heero. He wanted to know her. He wanted to know what those secrets were, and maybe.... just maybe.... be the one to make that missing smile appear upon her face for good and not like the momentary ones she usually has.
-------------------------------------------
A small grin appeared on Tetsuya's mouth as he caught sight of the two conversing by the open window. He turned back towards the direction he just came from and took out a cell phone out of his jacket.
"Yo, Taebe." he said in a malicious tone to the person on the other line, "I got news for you..... No, not about that! Yeah...It's already been confirmed.... Something quite interesting.... It's not just Odin's kid after all...The Maxwell boy and Mr. Winner's boy...There isn't any problems yet."
He stopped and laid back on one of the trees in the school grounds to get away from the hot sun that shone above the sky.
"Heh, no. They're not getting in the way, not mine's anyway...It's interesting...You sure you want to know?......" he took one last glimpse on the open window as his grin grew wider, "Well then, guess who's hitting on Aya..."
***********************
Ayame got up from her bed and walked towards the window. She stared at the view outside in silence.
"... Two more days...." she thought.
Her pondering was interrupted when the phone on the desk suddenly rang. She answered it immediately.
"Yes... Tetsuya.... I see... Right now? All right.... I'll be right there."
She hung up the phone and walked to the closet. She opened it and took out her military uniform as her eyes once again deepened as she stared at it in her arms.
-------
"You're not happy about working for OZ are you?"
"... No. What makes you think that?"
-------
Her conversation with Quatre yesterday echoed in her mind as she also began to wonder herself.
"... If you hated working for OZ, why didn't you leave in the first place?" she asked herself.
She returned to the window as she heard a flapping sound outside and placed the uniform on top of the coffee table. She opened the window slowly; trying not to scare whatever was there. Beneath the windowsill was a white dove, lounging on the ledge. It caught site of the new presence above it and flew on to the window's ledge, right in front of Ayame. She gazed at it in silence.
"... Ohayo." she greeted in her deadpan voice as she took the white creature in to her hands, "You're a brave one.... You're not afraid of humans at all..."
The dove stared at her and its new surrounding in wonderment. Ayame held her hands out, with the dove, outside as the creature flew off in to the infinite sky. The sad look in her eyes returned as she saw the bird fly in to the heavens.
"... I wish I am as free as you are...." she muttered as the figure of the white gentle creature disappeared in to the distance.
-----------------------------
Mai watched the three boys silently from her room's window. The three were eventually conversing not too far from the girls' dorms and by the looks on their faces; they were talking about something serious.
"Mai Ann, try to pay more attention to your work." a voice from within the room called.
There was another woman in her room. She looks like she's about 18 or 19 and she wore the uniform for senior students. She has dirty blonde hair and deep amber eyes.
"Yes, sis." she muttered taking one last glimpse on the trio.
The young woman took note of that and smiled.
"Do you like one of those boys?" she asked.
"Elena-neesan!!" she shouted as her face completely turned red.
Elena giggled.
"Sooo….Which one of the three is it?"
"Shigau!! I'm concerned!"
"Concerned?" Elena asked, "About what?"
"... Quatre Raberba Winner.... Isn't he the heir of the Winner family?"
Elena frowned in relation of the youngster's words.
"...It's been bothering me for awhile now.... But why is the next head of the Winner family here?" Mai questioned, "Is he and the other two here for her?"
The older woman turned to the direction of where the three boys were.
"... Probably.... But I hope not..." Elena muttered.
"... Sis.."
"... The last thing we need is to get included with this war permanently..."
Mai joined her companion's gaze out the window.
".... Sou nee..."
---------------------------------------------
"So you didn't find anything out?" Duo asked.
Quatre shook his head in response.
"None what so ever.."
"... Do you know anyone who may be connected to her?" Heero asked the two.
"... There's that Elena person." Quatre suggested.
"And then, there's that creepy black haired guy who hangs out with her sometimes. That Tetsuya guy." Duo added.
Heero somehow flinched a little at what Duo had just said, but not small enough to go unnoticed.
"Doshitano, Heero?" Quatre asked in concern.
".... It's nothing." he replied.
"Really now, Heero. I'm hurt." a voice remarked behind them.
All eyes turn to the figure not too far from them. Tetsuya wore malicious grin on his face as he approached the group.
"What do you want?" Duo asked just as Tetsuya stopped about two meters away from him.
"Nothing really. I just thought it would be nice to have a little walk outside… but then…" he paused, keeping that impish smile, "I saw you three, hanging about. So now, I'm just wondering what a bunch of Gundam pilots, like you, are doing here." He casually replied.
Duo and Quatre seemed shocked at what this stranger had just uttered. Heero in the other hand only bared the look of hate for this man.
"I have a question myself." Heero interrupted.
"What?" Tetsuya turned to him.
"Why are you and Machiro here?"
A pause came between the two as Quatre and Duo watched them without a clue what the hell was going on.
"... Classified information." Tetsuya blurted, "... Try not to come near her too much. Jinnai might get angry."
He winked at them then casually walked away.
"Aw, man. This guy is starting to annoy me." Duo frowned.
"Is it all right if I ask? Or is it best for me not to know?" Quatre said to their brooding companion.
"Ever heard of the Solarian Government?" Heero asked.
"That's the government that was in control of the L6 and 7 colonies about 60 to 80 years ago... but it was destroyed by the earth alliance after they declared independence from the present earth government. But even at that… there hasn't been much about the real history behind it. Like, who started the war, or who lead the movement for independence… But undoubtedly, that government was destroyed."
"That's a lie... The Solarian government still exists..."
"W-What?!!"
"The Solarian government still exists in the L6 colonies... as well as the remnants of the L7 colonies..."
"Remenants... the L7 colonies were destroyed in that war... are still…" Quatre muttered.
"The L7 colonies ARE gone from orbit... during the war, they crashed into the closest planet... Which was Mars.." Heero frowned as he turned towards the direction Tetsuya Midaki had taken.
"..Midaki, Tetsuya..." Heero muttered in his mono-toned voice, "I met him before..."
"Obviously..." Duo cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Heero, "He seemed typically familiar with you. He seems to know us too. But what I don't understand is if you knew him in the first place, why didn't you tell us?"
"I don't know him as well as you think... When I was younger.. I met someone by the name of Midaki, Kaworu. That man was Kaworu's older brother."
"Was?" Quatre asked.
"I recently heard that Kaworu died about 2 years ago. Tetsuya was already a Lt. when I met him. Kaworu was an intelligence officer. That was such a long time ago.."
"Heero..."
"... Even that girl was still alive back then..." he whispered under his breath, but loud enough for his two companions to hear.
They stared at Heero in concern as silence gloomed over the air.
***
"Looks like everything's going according to plan..." Tetsuya grinned as he watched the three 15 year olds at a safe distance away.
"It'll only be awhile till everything ends..." another figure with a feminine voice, who stood by Tetsuya, muttered.
"Yeah.. You're right. This is our final gift for the kindness Earth and its people gave us... And after that... We'll be free."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Jessi-chan and Mae-chan: *together* OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!
Jessi-chan: *snicker* Heero has a secret! Heero has a secret!
Mae-chan: That's nothing new though!
Jessi-chan: Anywhooo~ Read the next one for the continuation!! Bye-bye!
END