GUNDAM--WING
LOST PROMISES
CHAPTER 5
DISCLAIMER and Writers' note:
Jessi-chan: Well, here's chapter 5.
Mae-chan: Well continuing with this…. It seems that this fic really has headed to a Quatre-Ayame pairing. It's a bit of a Mary-Jane, but just to reassure you, Ayame's not really based on anyone we know. Not even us. *Jessi-chan whines in the background*
Jessi-chan: Planning Ayame's personality and even an actually character design took a lot of work. To tell you the truth we've worked on this fic since we were both in grade 7.
Mae-chan: But, after Jess re-read the old chapters, she was really irritated by it, so we re-wrote and planned year after year to make the perfect Ayame and then followed Tetsuya and the others. We're actually planning to continue this fic with an independent storyline about Ayame. It will be interesting rest assured.
Jessi-chan: It's mostly in my head right now, but I have a few notebooks with some planning stuff written out already. I just need to type it out. The major problem is seeing if I can read my writing from 6 years ago. Lol!
Mae-chan: Baka… Anyway, disclaimer time! The original characters of Gundam Wing all belong to their designated owners and no, we're not making any money out of this fic. Too much further a due! Chapter 5!!
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.
Truth
Ayame opened the curtains and let the warm light of the sun enter her room. She stared wearily outside as students of the school had already began to get out of their dorms.
"Finally… It's tomorrow." She muttered to herself, "Our final day on Earth…"
She released the lock of the window and pushed it open, feeling the breeze from the sea gently waft her hair.
"Somehow… I'm going to miss it." She stared at the horizon of the blue waters and grimaced. "I guess I should say good bye to him."
"I see. It's tomorrow is it?" Elena asked in a slightly disappointed tone.
"Yeah. We've all been waiting for this day for about a century." Tetsuya replied.
"Tomorrow, L7's connections to Earth and the other colonies will be officially severed officially… but besides that…"
"Ayame will be free to choose her fate…"
Silence came between the two young adults.
"Tetsuya… what if… What if all this hard work ends up all for nothing?" Elena blurted to him.
"W-What are you talking about?" he asked worriedly.
"…What if the young mistress… What if Ayame decides to sever her connections with L7? What if she decides to stay here on Earth? What if she decides to die tomorrow?!"
Tetsuya turned away from her.
"There's nothing we can do about that… The young mistress will carry her fate herself tomorrow. Once it strikes 12 that night… Ayame is no longer OZ's… nor is she ours. To what path she takes after tomorrow, to continue on living, or to give up on her life, it's all up to her then."
"But still… Ayame… if Ayame decides to leave L7's army… They'll still kill her… Tetsuya, you can't let her--"
"I know!!" Tetsuya interrupted, "I know… already… But Ayame probably already made her decision."
***********************************************
Duo closed the door behind him and walked to Quatre and Heero, who were both busily looking through some files with their laptops. Quatre turned to him as he closed the door.
"Duo." He smiled.
"You're late." Heero uttered in his usual deadpan voice.
"Sorry. I got held up." Duo replied as he pulled a chair over to them and sat down.
"With that Mai kid no doubt." Heero said disdainfully.
Duo threw a glare at him.
"Well, unlike what you think I found something important."
"Important?" Quatre repeated, "What is it?"
Duo smiled and took out a disk from his pocket. Quatre and Heero exchanged glances and looked at their braided brunette companion again.
"What is that?" Quatre asked.
Heero took the disk and ran it in his laptop. Quatre and Heero's eyes widened as a whole load of information flashed before their eyes.
"T-This is…" Quatre muttered.
"Information about the lost colonies… Level 7." Duo continued.
"AC 102, more than a century after the first colony was created, the Mars area colonies were completed under the supervision of a man by the name of Jonathan Rembrandt. A year later, the citizens of L7 voted him into the Government council. Two years later, Rembrandt agreed to sign the 'Federation Union' the government of Earth had offered. Unsatisfied of his decision, the citizens of L7 revolted against the government and many riots broke out causing a civil war between and within each colony. AC 107, a headstrong leader rose from the ashes and the shed blood of the people of L7, a man by the name of Nathaniel Mizuno. In AC 110, an opposing group assassinated Nathaniel Mizuno. He was 24." Quatre read from the screen as Heero suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Duo… where did you find this?" Heero asked in an angered tone.
"Mai gave me that disk." Duo replied casually, showing no concern or signs of intimidation to Heero's tone of voice, "She also told me something else."
Quatre looked at the both of them worriedly.
"W-What's wrong with you two?" he asked.
"Heero… You know who Ayame Machiro truly is, don't you?" Duo asked in a serious manner, "And you undoubtedly know everything about L7."
"Why you…" Heero growled.
"Duo, stop it." Quatre pleaded.
"Mai doesn't know the rest about you, but that Elena woman or Tetsuya Midaki should." Duo continued, "But what do you know about Ayame, Heero? Is it true she's related to Nicole Shiriori?"
Quatre instantly turned to Heero.
Ayame paused, as she was about to knock on the door and stood in front of it in silence.
"Heero… You know about Nicole?" he said in a strained voice.
Heero let out a sigh.
"There are some things you wouldn't understand about her. And there are certain things I cannot say." He replied and sat back down, "Ayame Machiro is an assassin trained by the surviving government of L7 ever since she was 9. Because of the war between Tomoko Shiriori and the Federation forces, the L7 government gave their 10 best-trained soldiers to them. Those soldiers were teenagers, or children. Within that 10 is Tetsuya and his younger brother Kaoru Midaki, Kiome Saku, Naru Inukumo, Elena and Leon Rosenberg, Mai Ann Nanami, Kitty Li, Yotaro Shizuma, and then… Ayame Machiro. Each one of them is a trained professional killer. But there was a downfall to the deal. The man they made the arrangement with was actually the future leader of the Romafeller Foundation. A man named Duke Dermal. In AC 192 the leader of the L7 government, Geraldo Mizuno became aware of the existence that a Coup de tat was planned to occur within the Federation government in a few years time. He quickly acted against them and complained to Dermal. He said that there was no way those young soldiers will ever be allowed to take part in such a masochist ideal. Dermal then reminded him of the conditions of the deal. If Geraldo Mizuno backed out, the treaty between Earth and L7 would be broken, but Dermal then changed the deal to something else either ways. He said he only needed one of the soldiers. And that was Ayame. Mizuno was afraid of making war with the whole army of the Federation, let alone the colonies they had already taken over. So he agreed. The 9 other soldiers were dismissed."
"So Ayame's been working for OZ all that time because of that." Duo muttered to himself.
"And… what of her connection to Nicole Shiriori?" Quatre asked eagerly.
Heero looked at him. He had sensed Quatre's willingness to find the truth about Ayame since the beginning. He grimaced.
"From what I've been told… Ayame Machiro was responsible for the death of Nicole Shiriori." Heero uttered. "That's all I can tell you… That's all I know…"
Quatre and Duo looked at Heero in shock.
"Y-You're kidding about that… right?" Duo stuttered, "There's got to be a mistake!"
Heero kept the serious looks in his eyes.
"I… I can't believe…" Quatre sat back on his seat feeling a slight pain in his chest.
"Quatre…" Duo looked at their blonde companion with sympathy.
Duo and Heero turned to the door as they heard a soft thud on the door. They exchanged glances and Duo walked to the door cautiously. He opened it and saw nothing. Bewildered, he closed the door and attended to Quatre who was still sitting silently by the desk.
Ayame fell to her knees breathing heavily. The moment Heero uttered that she was responsible for Nicole Shiriori's death; she automatically ran away from the door. She was in the lobby of the girls' dormitory before the pain in her chest became unbearable.
"Ungh…" her sight blurred as everything before her disappeared and fell unconscious on to the cold floor.
***************************************************
She felt a gentle hand stroking her hair back. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Tetsuya sitting on her bed, beside her.
"Tetsuya… What… happened to me?" Ayame asked.
"You fainted." He replied and smiled at her weakly.
"Oh." She slowly sat up with Tetsuya's help.
She turned to look at him, only seeing his deep green eyes burying into her. He looked like he was in pain, as well as angered… frustrated… concerned…sad…
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she finally inquired feeling quite uneasy in his confusing gaze.
Tetsuya then pulled her towards him and embraced her tightly, leaving her bewildered for a moment.
"You idiot… You shouldn't be crying…" she brushed her hand on his hair, "You shouldn't cry… you're a male for god's sakes…"
Tetsuya remained silent, unmoving before her. She knew exactly why he would react like this. It wasn't so long ago when Kaworu died. All three of them, including Kiome Saku and Yotaro Shizuma, were inseparable when they were younger. That was during her training in the L7 colonies under General Matreya's command. How long has it been anyway? How long has it been since she started her training, since she arrived in earth, since…Kaworu died… Ayame returned to her sense as she felt the man embracing her move slightly. Her eyes softened.
"I'm alright… Don't worry… I'm fine…" she hushed in his ear, "You're acting just like him… It's disturbing…"
"Shut up." Tetsuya finally muttered angrily.
Ayame sighed again and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry… to have worried you, Tetsu-niichan."
She turned to the window as she continued to hold Tetsuya in her arms.
"I'm responsible for Nicole's death…" her eyes deepened in color as she continued to think to herself, "Everything's going as you planned, Nicky… You've gotten away with it… You've proven you do own me after all… This body… This life… It was never meant for me. You just did it to watch me suffer… You created me… and now… They believe I killed you…"
She buried her face on to Tetsuya's shoulder.
"Tell me Nicky… What do you really want from me? What do you want me to do? … When will you finally let me go?"
*********************************************************
Quatre looked at the watch hanging on the wall. It was already 3:00 pm. He decided to miss his classes today and avoided leaving his room at any cost. He didn't want to see her. His heart wouldn't let him.
"Funny isn't it Nicky… I actually thought she was you." He muttered to himself.
He sat up and stared outside. Even though Heero had said that… it was too much for him to believe. Quatre had to hear it from her own mouth. He clenched his hands in to fists.
"I… I have to know the truth." He got up and walked out the door.
Ayame set the pen she was using down and turned to the door as she heard a knock.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"It's me…" a familiar voice replied.
"Quatre-san…" she thought, "Come in."
She got off the bed as Quatre entered the room.
"It's been awhile." She said to him.
Quatre forced a smile on his face and nodded.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No. I just needed to talk to you."
"Oh… Sure…"
Once again, Quatre entered the magnificent room. Nothing had changed. It was clean, almost too clean… as if nothing even had been touched or moved. He turned around to see Ayame sitting quietly on one of the chairs beside the small table by the window where they once sat down and talked to each other about her life in the federation army. She stared at him with those similar cold yet calm eyes, waiting for him to speak. Quatre paused and studied her a bit more, and then finally, he took in all the courage he could muster and start his own interrogation.
"Ayame… Remember when I talked about Nicole Shiriori?" he asked.
"Yes, your good friend, right?" she replied without a sign of concern in her voice or face.
"Yeah… You said you never met her…" the tone of his voice lowered, and then paused, watching Ayame.
Ayame continued to stare at him with an unreadable face.
Continuing, Quatre finally said, "You lied, didn't you?"
There was a pause of total silence. Quatre regretted asking that. He didn't want to hear it, but he also wanted to at the same time… He was afraid of what the reply would be. Ayame closed her eyes, let out a silent sigh, then looked at Quatre.
"Yes, I did." She simply replied, "So what?"
With uncaring eyes and the cold tone of her voice somehow stabbed Quatre's soul. Her every word hit him strongly, as if each one betrayed him.
"You…are…"
"Responsible for her death?" Ayame continued, her voice insistent and somewhat irritated, "Yeah. She's buried already; Buried with her damned bastard of a father."
Quatre clenched his hand into fists yet again, holding his anger back. How could she speak like that, so cold and uncaring? Who the hell is this woman?
"Why are you asking?" she teased in her desolate voice, "Are you surprised, Mr. Quatre Raberba Winner?"
"How could y--"
"You have no right to ask me anything." She interrupted in a more serious tone, now her eyes which were uncaring, reflected a sense of anger and annoyance.
Quatre had not expected such a reply from her. He knew she was bitter, and can sometimes be rude, mostly to her peers… But the person who sat meters away from him was ruthless and heartless, and all signs of the kind young woman who sat down to chat with him in this very room were gone in an instant. Not even a small trace could be sensed in her. This person made it seem like the Ayame before was nothing but a fragment of Quatre's imagination, as if a simple little sweet dream.
Ayame could easily read the look on Quatre's face. Her chest ached suddenly. Guilt… So this is guilt. It's been so long since she's felt it in her, not since Kaworu died at least. Ayame recomposed herself and spoke again.
"You and your damned friends have been sneaking around lately… I'm surprised it took you that long to finally find the truth. But for that effort to sneak around… mind you, I must give you credit. But… did you seriously think I didn't know, Gundam Pilot 04?"
Quatre stayed silent.
Ayame's eyes lightened as a small conniving smile appeared on her face. The side of her that was truly loyal to her work, which was almost everything she's made of, enjoyed this slow agony she's pressing on the young Gundam pilot. It savored the sense of victory it could get from how the blonde young man reacted to every word. The killer in her had taken over… There was no turning back.
"See? … I wasn't the only one lying." She continued, "You and the others… You're all the same… Accusing me of such selfish and irrelevant things from the past… you should be ashamed of yourselves."
She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to the side, smiling a little more, and then turning to look at the young man's tortured face.
"I have nothing else to say to you except this…" she paused, the smile disappeared completely from her face and in exchange was that ruthless, deadpan persona once again, "The moment you or your friends step within my way; I will make no hesitation to kill any of you."
At that, she turned away, making it clear that this was Quatre's chance to take his leave. Quatre, taking the message clearly, walked towards the door. With the sound of the door slamming close behind her, Ayame lowered her guard. She tilted her head back and looked wearily at the ceiling. She was silent, contemplating her actions and slowly taking in the emotional aftermath of what she had done.
"… I'm sorry…" she muttered in an inaudible voice.
*********************************************
Heero walked to the docks by himself and stopped right beside a bench where Tetsuya sat.
"Right on time…" Tetsuya smiled, "Take a seat."
"I'll stand." Heero coldly replied.
"Heh… You're the same as ever." Tetsuya shifted slightly on the bench turning to face the waters beyond the docks, "So, what do you want from me?"
"I've received order to attack the base tonight. You have anything to do with it?"
"I'm afraid not." Tetsuya uttered then smirked after a short pause, "… But kind of suspicious though."
Heero turned his head to him in slight interest.
"What do you mean?"
"The two people responsible for the destruction of that Base in Norway are appearing tomorrow."
"I thought they worked for you."
"One of them." The young man with dark hair corrected, "Only one of them works for us."
"…Which one is it?"
"Setsuko Reilly, age 13, born in Oslo, Norway. She was last assigned to Leon Rosenberg's 23rd division."
"What's she doing with the other guy?"
"Leon Rosenberg has turned sides against us. He's with the reapers now… Setsuko's just following orders. She's tipping them off though."
"I see…" Heero turned back to the docks, "And the other one is…?"
"The other boy is Shido Kagerou, age 15. He's Joel Graywolf's adopted son. Besides that, he's a natural in sharp shooting. He killed 5 government assassins a few weeks back and I've been trying to track him down."
"Joel Graywolf… One of the Reapers?"
"Not just one of them. He's one of their leaders."
Heero looked somewhat taken back. Tetsuya took note of it and smiled.
"You and J have been gone from us for a long time Heero. Things change, although some for the worst."
Heero grunted in annoyance.
"Anyway," Tetsuya continued, "That's the real reason why we're here. We're after the reaper kid and we want to know why he's after Federation bases."
"A simple mission like that can be handled by you, alone. So the only explanation that Elena Rosenberg and Ayame Machiro are here is that… there's a catch…"
"Well done." Tetsuya smiled, "After weeks of researching and following this kid's movement, we've come to the conclusion that we are not the only ones after him."
"What?" Heero looked at him again from the corner of his eye.
"… The very same people he works with wants him dead." Tetsuya lowered his voice and his face which usually had an impish smile had vanished, into what you could almost unmistakably take as a face of a true soldier, "He's being hunted down."
"And why's that?"
"It seems he killed 2 of the Reapers' main officials. There have been disputes between him and his father, so…"
"He's decided to work on his own…"
"… And with Setsuko following him…"
"Everything's working according to plan?"
"You can say that. Everything beside her…" Tetsuya sighed, "With Setsuko in a form of danger, her actions are quite surprising. Her sister complex has taken over, I guess."
"You know you'll never get her to change her mind. Only your brother was able to do that…. Too bad he's dead." Heero stated coolly.
Tetsuya lowered his eyes in annoyance.
"…You know, she'd hit you for saying that."
Heero remained silent. The older boy shifted on the bench but never removed his eyes from the yellow-orange horizon of the sea. Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind.
"Back then…" he hesitated, "Back then… when you first met Tomoko's child…"
He turned his head to face Heero.
"What did you think of her?"
Heero cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the man sitting on the bench at the corner of his eye.
"No, not like that." Tetsuya continued, "I mean, what you thought of her in general, as a person considering her… issues."
Heero turned his gaze towards the waters again.
"She was admirable."
Tetsuya's eyes widened, slightly in shock, hearing Heero's remark.
"Even though she was going through hell, she strived to live. She was stronger than any person I've ever met. She was weak when it came to her physical health… But in here," he turned completely to Tetsuya, pointing at his head, then to the left of his chest, "She was definitely strong."
Tetsuya was speechless. He never expected that to come out of this young man.
"… though that other one…" Heero continued, surprising Tetsuya again, "She is stronger physically… and strategy-thinking comes natural to her… but emotionally and mentally… She's much weaker."
A smile broke free from Tetsuya's mouth. Heero took one last glance at Tetsuya, who remained silent on his seat.
"If that's all, I'll be going." Without giving it a second though, Heero walked away towards the men's dormitories.
"Feh, you're the one who called me out you rude bastard." Tetsuya muttered lightly to himself, the smile never leaving his face.
He looked up at the horizon once again, this time, with the Federation base in view. Remembering Heero's words, the smile on his face saddened. He clasped his hands together and stared at it involuntarily.
"… Nicole Shiriori is stronger than anyone else…" he said to himself, "And Ayame Machiro is… weak."
"You save other from pain all the time. That's impressive. But, at the time you need to be protected… Who will do it?" a familiar voice mocked in his head as the memory played once again, "Who will save you, Ayame…?"
-------------------
Ayame's eyes shot open. It took a while for it to register that she was inside her room, and that she had fallen asleep on the chair by the window moments after the pilot of Gundam 04 left. She touched the side of her face and let out a deep breath.
"I haven't seen that dream for a while now…" she thought to herself.
She turned to the window and looked outside with a dead stare.
"I wonder… why I'm seeing it now…"
She turned to look at the time and frowned. It was 5:30. Time was going by too slowly, but something in her conflicted. 6 hours and 30 minutes till freedom… but also, 6 hours and 30 minutes till she leaves the earth for a long while… maybe even forever.
Her eyes deepened in colour as she solemnly stared outside.
"This is going to be the long final night on earth…" she muttered, "I only wished it was one with no regrets…"
"This one long night…"
"… Will be our last night to atone for sins…"
"… After tonight… you and Tomoko… will finally…"
"……. finally…."
********************to be continued*************************
Jessi-chan: … I'm working on chapter 6 already. So no more death threats over the e-mail please! I beg of you!! I've learned my lesson!! *cries again*
Mae-chan: Don't worry folks. She was just reading too much "I's" and a bit upset with a few anime issues. ^^;; Till next time!
LOST PROMISES
CHAPTER 5
DISCLAIMER and Writers' note:
Jessi-chan: Well, here's chapter 5.
Mae-chan: Well continuing with this…. It seems that this fic really has headed to a Quatre-Ayame pairing. It's a bit of a Mary-Jane, but just to reassure you, Ayame's not really based on anyone we know. Not even us. *Jessi-chan whines in the background*
Jessi-chan: Planning Ayame's personality and even an actually character design took a lot of work. To tell you the truth we've worked on this fic since we were both in grade 7.
Mae-chan: But, after Jess re-read the old chapters, she was really irritated by it, so we re-wrote and planned year after year to make the perfect Ayame and then followed Tetsuya and the others. We're actually planning to continue this fic with an independent storyline about Ayame. It will be interesting rest assured.
Jessi-chan: It's mostly in my head right now, but I have a few notebooks with some planning stuff written out already. I just need to type it out. The major problem is seeing if I can read my writing from 6 years ago. Lol!
Mae-chan: Baka… Anyway, disclaimer time! The original characters of Gundam Wing all belong to their designated owners and no, we're not making any money out of this fic. Too much further a due! Chapter 5!!
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.
Truth
Ayame opened the curtains and let the warm light of the sun enter her room. She stared wearily outside as students of the school had already began to get out of their dorms.
"Finally… It's tomorrow." She muttered to herself, "Our final day on Earth…"
She released the lock of the window and pushed it open, feeling the breeze from the sea gently waft her hair.
"Somehow… I'm going to miss it." She stared at the horizon of the blue waters and grimaced. "I guess I should say good bye to him."
"I see. It's tomorrow is it?" Elena asked in a slightly disappointed tone.
"Yeah. We've all been waiting for this day for about a century." Tetsuya replied.
"Tomorrow, L7's connections to Earth and the other colonies will be officially severed officially… but besides that…"
"Ayame will be free to choose her fate…"
Silence came between the two young adults.
"Tetsuya… what if… What if all this hard work ends up all for nothing?" Elena blurted to him.
"W-What are you talking about?" he asked worriedly.
"…What if the young mistress… What if Ayame decides to sever her connections with L7? What if she decides to stay here on Earth? What if she decides to die tomorrow?!"
Tetsuya turned away from her.
"There's nothing we can do about that… The young mistress will carry her fate herself tomorrow. Once it strikes 12 that night… Ayame is no longer OZ's… nor is she ours. To what path she takes after tomorrow, to continue on living, or to give up on her life, it's all up to her then."
"But still… Ayame… if Ayame decides to leave L7's army… They'll still kill her… Tetsuya, you can't let her--"
"I know!!" Tetsuya interrupted, "I know… already… But Ayame probably already made her decision."
***********************************************
Duo closed the door behind him and walked to Quatre and Heero, who were both busily looking through some files with their laptops. Quatre turned to him as he closed the door.
"Duo." He smiled.
"You're late." Heero uttered in his usual deadpan voice.
"Sorry. I got held up." Duo replied as he pulled a chair over to them and sat down.
"With that Mai kid no doubt." Heero said disdainfully.
Duo threw a glare at him.
"Well, unlike what you think I found something important."
"Important?" Quatre repeated, "What is it?"
Duo smiled and took out a disk from his pocket. Quatre and Heero exchanged glances and looked at their braided brunette companion again.
"What is that?" Quatre asked.
Heero took the disk and ran it in his laptop. Quatre and Heero's eyes widened as a whole load of information flashed before their eyes.
"T-This is…" Quatre muttered.
"Information about the lost colonies… Level 7." Duo continued.
"AC 102, more than a century after the first colony was created, the Mars area colonies were completed under the supervision of a man by the name of Jonathan Rembrandt. A year later, the citizens of L7 voted him into the Government council. Two years later, Rembrandt agreed to sign the 'Federation Union' the government of Earth had offered. Unsatisfied of his decision, the citizens of L7 revolted against the government and many riots broke out causing a civil war between and within each colony. AC 107, a headstrong leader rose from the ashes and the shed blood of the people of L7, a man by the name of Nathaniel Mizuno. In AC 110, an opposing group assassinated Nathaniel Mizuno. He was 24." Quatre read from the screen as Heero suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Duo… where did you find this?" Heero asked in an angered tone.
"Mai gave me that disk." Duo replied casually, showing no concern or signs of intimidation to Heero's tone of voice, "She also told me something else."
Quatre looked at the both of them worriedly.
"W-What's wrong with you two?" he asked.
"Heero… You know who Ayame Machiro truly is, don't you?" Duo asked in a serious manner, "And you undoubtedly know everything about L7."
"Why you…" Heero growled.
"Duo, stop it." Quatre pleaded.
"Mai doesn't know the rest about you, but that Elena woman or Tetsuya Midaki should." Duo continued, "But what do you know about Ayame, Heero? Is it true she's related to Nicole Shiriori?"
Quatre instantly turned to Heero.
Ayame paused, as she was about to knock on the door and stood in front of it in silence.
"Heero… You know about Nicole?" he said in a strained voice.
Heero let out a sigh.
"There are some things you wouldn't understand about her. And there are certain things I cannot say." He replied and sat back down, "Ayame Machiro is an assassin trained by the surviving government of L7 ever since she was 9. Because of the war between Tomoko Shiriori and the Federation forces, the L7 government gave their 10 best-trained soldiers to them. Those soldiers were teenagers, or children. Within that 10 is Tetsuya and his younger brother Kaoru Midaki, Kiome Saku, Naru Inukumo, Elena and Leon Rosenberg, Mai Ann Nanami, Kitty Li, Yotaro Shizuma, and then… Ayame Machiro. Each one of them is a trained professional killer. But there was a downfall to the deal. The man they made the arrangement with was actually the future leader of the Romafeller Foundation. A man named Duke Dermal. In AC 192 the leader of the L7 government, Geraldo Mizuno became aware of the existence that a Coup de tat was planned to occur within the Federation government in a few years time. He quickly acted against them and complained to Dermal. He said that there was no way those young soldiers will ever be allowed to take part in such a masochist ideal. Dermal then reminded him of the conditions of the deal. If Geraldo Mizuno backed out, the treaty between Earth and L7 would be broken, but Dermal then changed the deal to something else either ways. He said he only needed one of the soldiers. And that was Ayame. Mizuno was afraid of making war with the whole army of the Federation, let alone the colonies they had already taken over. So he agreed. The 9 other soldiers were dismissed."
"So Ayame's been working for OZ all that time because of that." Duo muttered to himself.
"And… what of her connection to Nicole Shiriori?" Quatre asked eagerly.
Heero looked at him. He had sensed Quatre's willingness to find the truth about Ayame since the beginning. He grimaced.
"From what I've been told… Ayame Machiro was responsible for the death of Nicole Shiriori." Heero uttered. "That's all I can tell you… That's all I know…"
Quatre and Duo looked at Heero in shock.
"Y-You're kidding about that… right?" Duo stuttered, "There's got to be a mistake!"
Heero kept the serious looks in his eyes.
"I… I can't believe…" Quatre sat back on his seat feeling a slight pain in his chest.
"Quatre…" Duo looked at their blonde companion with sympathy.
Duo and Heero turned to the door as they heard a soft thud on the door. They exchanged glances and Duo walked to the door cautiously. He opened it and saw nothing. Bewildered, he closed the door and attended to Quatre who was still sitting silently by the desk.
Ayame fell to her knees breathing heavily. The moment Heero uttered that she was responsible for Nicole Shiriori's death; she automatically ran away from the door. She was in the lobby of the girls' dormitory before the pain in her chest became unbearable.
"Ungh…" her sight blurred as everything before her disappeared and fell unconscious on to the cold floor.
***************************************************
She felt a gentle hand stroking her hair back. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Tetsuya sitting on her bed, beside her.
"Tetsuya… What… happened to me?" Ayame asked.
"You fainted." He replied and smiled at her weakly.
"Oh." She slowly sat up with Tetsuya's help.
She turned to look at him, only seeing his deep green eyes burying into her. He looked like he was in pain, as well as angered… frustrated… concerned…sad…
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she finally inquired feeling quite uneasy in his confusing gaze.
Tetsuya then pulled her towards him and embraced her tightly, leaving her bewildered for a moment.
"You idiot… You shouldn't be crying…" she brushed her hand on his hair, "You shouldn't cry… you're a male for god's sakes…"
Tetsuya remained silent, unmoving before her. She knew exactly why he would react like this. It wasn't so long ago when Kaworu died. All three of them, including Kiome Saku and Yotaro Shizuma, were inseparable when they were younger. That was during her training in the L7 colonies under General Matreya's command. How long has it been anyway? How long has it been since she started her training, since she arrived in earth, since…Kaworu died… Ayame returned to her sense as she felt the man embracing her move slightly. Her eyes softened.
"I'm alright… Don't worry… I'm fine…" she hushed in his ear, "You're acting just like him… It's disturbing…"
"Shut up." Tetsuya finally muttered angrily.
Ayame sighed again and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry… to have worried you, Tetsu-niichan."
She turned to the window as she continued to hold Tetsuya in her arms.
"I'm responsible for Nicole's death…" her eyes deepened in color as she continued to think to herself, "Everything's going as you planned, Nicky… You've gotten away with it… You've proven you do own me after all… This body… This life… It was never meant for me. You just did it to watch me suffer… You created me… and now… They believe I killed you…"
She buried her face on to Tetsuya's shoulder.
"Tell me Nicky… What do you really want from me? What do you want me to do? … When will you finally let me go?"
*********************************************************
Quatre looked at the watch hanging on the wall. It was already 3:00 pm. He decided to miss his classes today and avoided leaving his room at any cost. He didn't want to see her. His heart wouldn't let him.
"Funny isn't it Nicky… I actually thought she was you." He muttered to himself.
He sat up and stared outside. Even though Heero had said that… it was too much for him to believe. Quatre had to hear it from her own mouth. He clenched his hands in to fists.
"I… I have to know the truth." He got up and walked out the door.
Ayame set the pen she was using down and turned to the door as she heard a knock.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"It's me…" a familiar voice replied.
"Quatre-san…" she thought, "Come in."
She got off the bed as Quatre entered the room.
"It's been awhile." She said to him.
Quatre forced a smile on his face and nodded.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No. I just needed to talk to you."
"Oh… Sure…"
Once again, Quatre entered the magnificent room. Nothing had changed. It was clean, almost too clean… as if nothing even had been touched or moved. He turned around to see Ayame sitting quietly on one of the chairs beside the small table by the window where they once sat down and talked to each other about her life in the federation army. She stared at him with those similar cold yet calm eyes, waiting for him to speak. Quatre paused and studied her a bit more, and then finally, he took in all the courage he could muster and start his own interrogation.
"Ayame… Remember when I talked about Nicole Shiriori?" he asked.
"Yes, your good friend, right?" she replied without a sign of concern in her voice or face.
"Yeah… You said you never met her…" the tone of his voice lowered, and then paused, watching Ayame.
Ayame continued to stare at him with an unreadable face.
Continuing, Quatre finally said, "You lied, didn't you?"
There was a pause of total silence. Quatre regretted asking that. He didn't want to hear it, but he also wanted to at the same time… He was afraid of what the reply would be. Ayame closed her eyes, let out a silent sigh, then looked at Quatre.
"Yes, I did." She simply replied, "So what?"
With uncaring eyes and the cold tone of her voice somehow stabbed Quatre's soul. Her every word hit him strongly, as if each one betrayed him.
"You…are…"
"Responsible for her death?" Ayame continued, her voice insistent and somewhat irritated, "Yeah. She's buried already; Buried with her damned bastard of a father."
Quatre clenched his hand into fists yet again, holding his anger back. How could she speak like that, so cold and uncaring? Who the hell is this woman?
"Why are you asking?" she teased in her desolate voice, "Are you surprised, Mr. Quatre Raberba Winner?"
"How could y--"
"You have no right to ask me anything." She interrupted in a more serious tone, now her eyes which were uncaring, reflected a sense of anger and annoyance.
Quatre had not expected such a reply from her. He knew she was bitter, and can sometimes be rude, mostly to her peers… But the person who sat meters away from him was ruthless and heartless, and all signs of the kind young woman who sat down to chat with him in this very room were gone in an instant. Not even a small trace could be sensed in her. This person made it seem like the Ayame before was nothing but a fragment of Quatre's imagination, as if a simple little sweet dream.
Ayame could easily read the look on Quatre's face. Her chest ached suddenly. Guilt… So this is guilt. It's been so long since she's felt it in her, not since Kaworu died at least. Ayame recomposed herself and spoke again.
"You and your damned friends have been sneaking around lately… I'm surprised it took you that long to finally find the truth. But for that effort to sneak around… mind you, I must give you credit. But… did you seriously think I didn't know, Gundam Pilot 04?"
Quatre stayed silent.
Ayame's eyes lightened as a small conniving smile appeared on her face. The side of her that was truly loyal to her work, which was almost everything she's made of, enjoyed this slow agony she's pressing on the young Gundam pilot. It savored the sense of victory it could get from how the blonde young man reacted to every word. The killer in her had taken over… There was no turning back.
"See? … I wasn't the only one lying." She continued, "You and the others… You're all the same… Accusing me of such selfish and irrelevant things from the past… you should be ashamed of yourselves."
She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to the side, smiling a little more, and then turning to look at the young man's tortured face.
"I have nothing else to say to you except this…" she paused, the smile disappeared completely from her face and in exchange was that ruthless, deadpan persona once again, "The moment you or your friends step within my way; I will make no hesitation to kill any of you."
At that, she turned away, making it clear that this was Quatre's chance to take his leave. Quatre, taking the message clearly, walked towards the door. With the sound of the door slamming close behind her, Ayame lowered her guard. She tilted her head back and looked wearily at the ceiling. She was silent, contemplating her actions and slowly taking in the emotional aftermath of what she had done.
"… I'm sorry…" she muttered in an inaudible voice.
*********************************************
Heero walked to the docks by himself and stopped right beside a bench where Tetsuya sat.
"Right on time…" Tetsuya smiled, "Take a seat."
"I'll stand." Heero coldly replied.
"Heh… You're the same as ever." Tetsuya shifted slightly on the bench turning to face the waters beyond the docks, "So, what do you want from me?"
"I've received order to attack the base tonight. You have anything to do with it?"
"I'm afraid not." Tetsuya uttered then smirked after a short pause, "… But kind of suspicious though."
Heero turned his head to him in slight interest.
"What do you mean?"
"The two people responsible for the destruction of that Base in Norway are appearing tomorrow."
"I thought they worked for you."
"One of them." The young man with dark hair corrected, "Only one of them works for us."
"…Which one is it?"
"Setsuko Reilly, age 13, born in Oslo, Norway. She was last assigned to Leon Rosenberg's 23rd division."
"What's she doing with the other guy?"
"Leon Rosenberg has turned sides against us. He's with the reapers now… Setsuko's just following orders. She's tipping them off though."
"I see…" Heero turned back to the docks, "And the other one is…?"
"The other boy is Shido Kagerou, age 15. He's Joel Graywolf's adopted son. Besides that, he's a natural in sharp shooting. He killed 5 government assassins a few weeks back and I've been trying to track him down."
"Joel Graywolf… One of the Reapers?"
"Not just one of them. He's one of their leaders."
Heero looked somewhat taken back. Tetsuya took note of it and smiled.
"You and J have been gone from us for a long time Heero. Things change, although some for the worst."
Heero grunted in annoyance.
"Anyway," Tetsuya continued, "That's the real reason why we're here. We're after the reaper kid and we want to know why he's after Federation bases."
"A simple mission like that can be handled by you, alone. So the only explanation that Elena Rosenberg and Ayame Machiro are here is that… there's a catch…"
"Well done." Tetsuya smiled, "After weeks of researching and following this kid's movement, we've come to the conclusion that we are not the only ones after him."
"What?" Heero looked at him again from the corner of his eye.
"… The very same people he works with wants him dead." Tetsuya lowered his voice and his face which usually had an impish smile had vanished, into what you could almost unmistakably take as a face of a true soldier, "He's being hunted down."
"And why's that?"
"It seems he killed 2 of the Reapers' main officials. There have been disputes between him and his father, so…"
"He's decided to work on his own…"
"… And with Setsuko following him…"
"Everything's working according to plan?"
"You can say that. Everything beside her…" Tetsuya sighed, "With Setsuko in a form of danger, her actions are quite surprising. Her sister complex has taken over, I guess."
"You know you'll never get her to change her mind. Only your brother was able to do that…. Too bad he's dead." Heero stated coolly.
Tetsuya lowered his eyes in annoyance.
"…You know, she'd hit you for saying that."
Heero remained silent. The older boy shifted on the bench but never removed his eyes from the yellow-orange horizon of the sea. Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind.
"Back then…" he hesitated, "Back then… when you first met Tomoko's child…"
He turned his head to face Heero.
"What did you think of her?"
Heero cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the man sitting on the bench at the corner of his eye.
"No, not like that." Tetsuya continued, "I mean, what you thought of her in general, as a person considering her… issues."
Heero turned his gaze towards the waters again.
"She was admirable."
Tetsuya's eyes widened, slightly in shock, hearing Heero's remark.
"Even though she was going through hell, she strived to live. She was stronger than any person I've ever met. She was weak when it came to her physical health… But in here," he turned completely to Tetsuya, pointing at his head, then to the left of his chest, "She was definitely strong."
Tetsuya was speechless. He never expected that to come out of this young man.
"… though that other one…" Heero continued, surprising Tetsuya again, "She is stronger physically… and strategy-thinking comes natural to her… but emotionally and mentally… She's much weaker."
A smile broke free from Tetsuya's mouth. Heero took one last glance at Tetsuya, who remained silent on his seat.
"If that's all, I'll be going." Without giving it a second though, Heero walked away towards the men's dormitories.
"Feh, you're the one who called me out you rude bastard." Tetsuya muttered lightly to himself, the smile never leaving his face.
He looked up at the horizon once again, this time, with the Federation base in view. Remembering Heero's words, the smile on his face saddened. He clasped his hands together and stared at it involuntarily.
"… Nicole Shiriori is stronger than anyone else…" he said to himself, "And Ayame Machiro is… weak."
"You save other from pain all the time. That's impressive. But, at the time you need to be protected… Who will do it?" a familiar voice mocked in his head as the memory played once again, "Who will save you, Ayame…?"
-------------------
Ayame's eyes shot open. It took a while for it to register that she was inside her room, and that she had fallen asleep on the chair by the window moments after the pilot of Gundam 04 left. She touched the side of her face and let out a deep breath.
"I haven't seen that dream for a while now…" she thought to herself.
She turned to the window and looked outside with a dead stare.
"I wonder… why I'm seeing it now…"
She turned to look at the time and frowned. It was 5:30. Time was going by too slowly, but something in her conflicted. 6 hours and 30 minutes till freedom… but also, 6 hours and 30 minutes till she leaves the earth for a long while… maybe even forever.
Her eyes deepened in colour as she solemnly stared outside.
"This is going to be the long final night on earth…" she muttered, "I only wished it was one with no regrets…"
"This one long night…"
"… Will be our last night to atone for sins…"
"… After tonight… you and Tomoko… will finally…"
"……. finally…."
********************to be continued*************************
Jessi-chan: … I'm working on chapter 6 already. So no more death threats over the e-mail please! I beg of you!! I've learned my lesson!! *cries again*
Mae-chan: Don't worry folks. She was just reading too much "I's" and a bit upset with a few anime issues. ^^;; Till next time!