GUNDAM--WING
LOST PROMISES
CHAPTER 8
DISCLAIMER and Writers' note:
Mae-chan: Oh my, oh my… it seems Jessi-chan lied about making her quota of finishing the character storylines by chapter 8.
Jessi-chan: I'm sorry _;;;
Mae-chan: ^-^ eheh. Anyway… G-wing isn't ours and we didn't make any money for this fic… blah blah and blah… and here's Chapter 8.
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 is wrong and never existed in the series.
LAMENTATION
*ring*
The phone rang for the fifth time. Quatre had immediately left to call this 'Kathleen Mizuno' at the closest payphone after their conversation with Heero. They "couldn't risk getting tracked down" suggested Heero. He claims that if this Mizuno woman was able to track him down, imagine what Oz would be capable of, not to mention that Ayame and Tetsuya already knew who they were.
*click*
Finally, someone answered.
"Hello?" a young voice of a woman picked up.
"Hello, yes, this is Quatre Winner returning a call for a Ms. Kathleen Mizuno. Is she there?"
"Ah, yes. Would you please wait a moment?"
"Well?" Duo was outside the phone boot, leaning against the railing that was placed between bear the edge of the sidewalk and the street.
Quatre gestured for him to give him a moment.
"… Hello..?" another voice picked up the phone, this time a little bit deeper than the first one.
"Yes... um, this is Quatre Raberba Winner. Are you Ms. Kathleen Mizuno?"
"…. Yes, that's me." She sounded reluctant to answer.
"Um… About the message…" Quatre continued.
"Oh, Yes! Hold on a moment!" the woman in the other line suddenly exclaimed with much enthusiasm, "I-I'll give you the address right away…"
Duo looked at Quatre as he gestured for him to come over. The moment Duo was within reaching area, Quatre grabbed the front of his shirt and took the note pad and pen he had asked him to bring from his front pocket. Duo watched Quatre, bewildered, as he started to write down something on the note pad while speaking on the phone. Not before long, Quatre hung up the phone and walked out the booth.
"Let's go." He said to Duo as he walked past him.
"O-Oi!" Duo followed him, slightly tripping along the way.
Quatre was already calling for a cab when Duo reached him.
"W-What is it? Hey!" Duo called, getting into the cab after Quatre.
"Mister, do you know how to get to the Shuichirou Mizuno residence?" Quatre asked the driver.
"You mean the one near the hospital? Or the one near the border of the city?"
"The hospital." Quatre continued, "If you're not sure, here are the instructions to get there."
He handed the driver the page of the memo pad he had written on.
"Gotcha." The man replied and drove on.
"Hey, Quatre. What's going on?" Duo said pleadingly, looking utterly confused.
"It's nothing." Quatre replied, smiling faintly, "I guess I'm just anxious."
Duo's face became glum.
"You don't want to believe it do you?" Duo asked.
Quatre smiled wearily.
"No… I don't. I think there's more to it… that's what I believe…"
********************
"Ooo-niii-chaaan~" the familiar voice sang from behind as two small arms grabbed onto his right arm.
The young boy groaned at the sight of the young Nicole Shiriori.
"Let's play~" she said teasingly.
"Let go." The young boy muttered irritably.
Nicole merely smiled at him, and then let his arm go. It first felt like that was over with, but Nicole followed him and watched everything he did in the base.
"Are you that bored?" the boy finally mustered to ask.
"Not really." She replied, still smiling.
"NICKY!!" Taebe's voice echoed in the docking area, "NICKY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
The boy turned to his young companion and saw the sudden change of her cheerful mood to a stern look. She looked at the boy and smiled a little, then ran off to the direction of Taebe's voice.
"I later found out a lot more about Nicole Shiriori. Her childish behavior was her cover up to her serious side. She thought it made them worry if she was too serious. She didn't want others to feel sorry for her, or to feel obligated to make her feel comfortable at all times just because she was Tomoko Shiriori's daughter. But… everyone had a reason to feel that way. What she goes through everyday isn't normal. She argues with her only family every single minute they spend with each other. Well... she tries… to argue with him, but she quiets down… She couldn't win against her father. And that made her angry with herself. She saw herself as someone who was weak. She didn't want to be seen like that. So… she accepted the worse thing possible."
"NICKY!!" Taebe screamed as the screen before them in the observation dock blanked out, only the small child's shouting was heard last.
"Nicky…" Kaworu looked horrified and quickly sprinted out the room.
"Kaworu, wait!" Tetsuya shouted after him, but his younger sibling didn't bother to stop and continued on out the door.
The young boy then decided to follow. He ended up at the docking area for the strange mobile suit he had seen earlier when he first met the Midaki brothers. It was in total chaos. There were medical officers and technicians everywhere, milling around the mangled remains of the mobile suit he had seen. Tetsuya and Taebe entered the room and ran past the young boy, joining Kaworu, who was standing near the MS. They were already in the process of opening the cockpit. The door budged and dark crimson liquid began to run out the pilot chamber of the MS. Taebe covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Again, the door budged a bit wider... more blood. It now was flowing onto the cold surface of the iron floor. Tetsuya clenched his fists together, looking as horrified as Taebe and his younger sibling. With one final pull, the entrance completely opened and the inside of the small chamber could be seen.
There sat in the MS's pilot seat the young 8 year old covered in blood. Several deep lacerations were all over her body, allowing her life to spill away in the form of that dark liquid.
"Nicole!" Kaworu was the first to run to her when the Medical officers took her out of the cockpit and laid her on the stretcher.
There was blood everywhere. She was covered with it… completely. Before the young boy could notice, Taebe and Tetsuya had already made their way to the young girl. Taebe was crying her eyes out, while Tetsuya pleaded with the medical officer to tell him if the little girl was going to be okay. Reluctantly, the young boy made his way to get a closer look of the young girl. The closer he got, the more his stomach turned. This wasn't normal. What could have caused such injuries? What was Tomoko Shiriori testing?
He stopped when Nicole eyes suddenly opened and stared at him. A small smile formed on her face. Then, she began to speak in a strained tiny voice.
"It…It seems… I made a mistake…" she breathed, "I'm such an idiot… right?"
"..I'm sorry." She continued, "I'm… sorry…"
"I wasn't… successful…"
Taebe suddenly looked at her angrily.
"Idiot! That's not important!" she shouted while her tears continued to flow, "How can you say that when you're like this?!"
"Please… don't hate me…"
"Stop it!" Taebe snapped.
"Don't… hate me…" the child's voice clearly showed that she was in a lot of pain, but her face looked calm, and that same smile stood its ground.
"STOP IT!!"
The young boy's eyes widened. Nicole couldn't see them, or hear them. She wasn't aware of who was around, all except…
He suddenly turned behind him. There, he saw a man standing not too far from them. The man looked like he was in his mid 30's. He had black hair and the same chestnut eyes as Nicole. He was the man they called Tomoko Shiriori. Nicole was staring right at him. Everything she just had uttered wasn't meant for the others… She meant it for him…
Within the chaos and pain she was probably going through, the only thing in her mind… was that she didn't want her father to hate her.
"Even though he's done so much to hurt her…It doesn't make any sense…"
"Just what were you thinking…?" Heero muttered to himself as he watched the screen of his laptop idly.
*****
Quatre and Duo arrived at the Mizuno residence in a matter of minutes. It was located near the shore of Maine after all, so it wasn't too far away from the school, but it wasn't close enough to walk.
"Wow… It's huge." Duo remarked to himself, looking at the towering white mansion.
Quatre thanked and paid the taxi driver, the followed Duo to the front gates. Indeed, the Mizuno residence was rather massive. It could fit a few families in there. Beyond the black painted, towering Gothic style gates was a large garden.
The iron gates suddenly opened and a woman in her late 30's approached them from the front door of the mansion. She looked exactly like the picture they saw earlier that day; a delicate looking woman with brown hair, tied in the same bun, and auburn eyes. She was wearing a cream colored business suit with a white French-cut polo underneath. Shinning white pearls hung around her neck and a pair of pearl earrings adorned her ears. She hurried to the gate followed by a maid, looking full of anticipation.
She stopped in front of the two boys, and then looked at them both from head to toe.
"Are you…" she started.
Duo and Quatre nodded simultaneously.
"Oh…yes, I see." She said as a grin slowly formed on her gentle face. "Well, then… why… why don't you two come in so we can talk appropriately?"
"Y-yes…" Quatre replied and followed the woman towards the Mansion with Duo.
The young maid finally caught up just when the woman turned towards the door.
"L-Lady Kathleen!" she said out of breath, "Y-You mustn't answer the door… y-yourself!"
"Shimura-san, we'll be inside at the study, would you mind bringing some tea in?"
"L-Lady Kathleen!" the maid called Shimura whined as Kathleen merely passed her without even giving her a half glance.
Quatre and Duo spent the rest of the way to the study watching the much older woman's actions. She surely had elegance and sense of majestic beauty, but she was unbelievable fidgety and perky. She greeted everyone she came by at the halls, which were workers and even who appear to be family friends, without even forgetting to introduce the two boys happily. It was like watching a small child introducing her new friends to her mom and dad. It was also rather amusing, they had to admit, how the young maid would try to follow her mistress with much demise.
After a few more chatting and flitting about, she stopped in front of a pair of varnished carved oak doors and opened it.
"We can talk here." She gestured them to follow.
The room was a fairly large, about the same size as three dorm rooms put together. It appeared to be a study as towering shelves were located on the walls, an oak desk lay in front of the tall curtained window, and a coffee table and chairs sat in the middle of the room.
Kathleen made her way to the window and slide the curtains further apart, allowing more light into the room. She glanced at the two boys, her eyes gleaming with such indescribable delight.
Quatre exchanged glances with Duo and smiled.
**************
Tetsuya stared tiredly at the blinking screen before him. An e-mail from his superiors had come in and its contents would only make his job harder than any easier. The screen blinked again and a small window opened.
"Another one… who is it this time…?" he muttered to himself.
He clicked on the flashing window to open the mail.
-They contacted me, just like you said. Whoever you are… Thank you.-
-Kathleen Mizuno
Tetsuya smiled to himself.
"*Dou itashimashita… Shiriori-sama…" he closed the laptop, and then sighed.
"Tetsuya." Kaworu called from behind him.
"Hm?"
"I'm leaving for the testing today… wish me luck."
Kaworu was now 16 and wearing a military uniform for MS pilots. It was something Tetsuya never wanted Kaworu to put on. He was following the same steps as he did. Hopefully, he will not follow the same mistakes.
"**Ba-ka, someone as hardheaded as you won't need it." Tetsuya grinned.
Kaworu smiled slightly.
"Thank you… brother…" he muttered.
"You better get going." Tetsuya nudged him, "Ayame and I will be watching you."
"… Yeah." He smiled wearily.
"I'm gonna head to the observation deck, okay?"
"Yeah… oh!" Kaworu called, making Tetsuya stop at his tracks.
"Hmm?"
"Tell Aya… That I'm sorry." He said reluctantly.
Tetsuya looked at his younger brother and frowned.
"Huh?"
"Just tell her that…" he smiled, and then ran the opposite direction, toward the docking areas.
"It doesn't make sense… It always doesn't make any sense till it's too late…"
Tetsuya covered his face with his hands.
"Stupid kid… how dare you run away like that from us…" Tetsuya mumbled in a strained tone.
A pair of arms wrapped themselves loosely around Tetsuya from behind, startling him a little.
"How long have you been here?" he asked her, burying his head into the hair on the side of her face and placing his hands on her arms, firmly.
"Just got here." Ayame replied, closing her eyes, "Were you thinking about Kaworu?"
"Not really…" he muttered into her ear.
"Liar."
Tetsuya chuckled.
"By the way…" she continued.
"Hmm?"
"Don't get too close or too comfortable… or I'll tell Taebe on you."
Tetsuya smiled and kissed her on the cheek, then let her go. Ayame stepped away from him and headed to the nearest computer console in the room.
"Did you get orders from Matreya?" Ayame asked as she sat down before a console and began typing away.
"No." he lied, then put the laptop into its bag.
"I see…" she said without even pausing at her work.
"How about Taebe?"
"Yeah… she gave me my orders." Ayame sighed, "Ah… I can't figure it out…"
"Hm?" Tetsuya got off his seat and walked to the young soldier's side, "What are you working on?"
"Shido Kagerou…"
"Aaah. Taebe asked you to review those files?"
Ayame nodded.
"He's a complicated one. I don't understand the way he thinks…"
Tetsuya smiled lightly at her remark. The younger soldier noticed.
"What?" she asked blandly.
"Nothing." He chuckled then patted her on the head, "***Gambaro."
Tetsuya pulled a chair near Ayame and sat down on it.
"Well, what do you plan on doing to Kagerou?"
Ayame glanced at him and cocked an eyebrow.
"You're leaving that decision to me?"
Tetsuya nodded.
"I thought it would only be proper to do so with after what happened during Leon's attack on your brigade, right?"
The young girl simply looked away.
"That's funny, the way I remember it, the person who was angry the most was you and your brother."
Tetsuya slightly smiled. It was true. Leon Rosenberg was formerly his younger brother's best friend. It was to the point that Tetsuya even felt jealous at some times when the two were together. It felt like his role as Kaworu's older brother was being challenged. The two of them…. No, the three of them were inseparable, that being Kaworu, Leon, and Ayame. Kaworu and Leon were the troublemakers and Ayame was the peace-keeper.
But for every happy moment must be an end. That's what they've all learned in the army. The year before Kaworu died, Leon betrayed them by switching sides to the enemy and tried to take Ayame's life along the way. Ayame was kept in the hospital for 2 months since Leon stabbed her. Kaworu went berserk for awhile since Leon got away. Ayame let him get away. It took a few tranquilizers to stop Kaworu from chasing after Leon. Tetsuya knew well that Kaworu would have killed him. After all, he also… wanted to kill Leon.
"How long are you going to space out like that?" Ayame frowned.
Tetsuya got up from his seat. His eyes were fixated on her intensely.
"W-What…?"
Tetsuya then reached to her collar, making Ayame flinch and flush at his sudden actions.
"H-Hey! I'll really tell on you!" she snapped, trying to pry his hand away.
He pulled down the collar of her turtle neck which revealed a rather nasty looking scar.
"… I was hoping that this would be gone by now." He muttered as he looked agonizingly at the remnants of Ayame's wound.
That's where it was… the signs of Leon's betrayal. He gritted his teeth at the sight of it, and then closed his eyes.
"T-Tetsuya…"
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly.
"Back then… I wasn't able to protect you… or Kaworu…" he whispered softly. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Ayame suddenly froze as his words hit her. Something was wrong…
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I wasn't able to protect you… or your mother… or… Masato…" Another voice whispered in her head.
Who…?
"But don't worry… you don't have to worry anymore…" the voice continued. "I won't let anyone hurt you again."
Who was it?
"Never again."
Her eyes widened in horror as it continued on in her mind.
"Nicky."
*********************
Jessi-chan: …. Flashback bananza… O_O;; Anyway… wow… Finally finished this chapter. I've been busy with other fanfics and Mae-chan's been busy with work… so.. yeah. We'll try out best to finish this up. ^_^ We're almost to the end.
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Translation stuff
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*Dou itashimashita- You're welcome
**Baka- idiot
***Gambaro- keep at it or Good luck
^Oto-sama- Father