Chapter Fifty-Seven: To Live a Fairytale
Quiet rain pattered outside in a steady stream and emerald eyes watched it solemnly.
"How long have you been awake?"
She didn't have to turn and see whom it was to know her husband's voice. "Not long. The news was on when I woke."
"Hmm?" Heero's eyes turned up towards the television screen where the reported had news of the death of a young man. Approximately 6'3'' with blue eyes and hair. He had no form of identification on him, and appeared to have been shot seven times. No further news was known.
"Seven times," Chase mumbled. "I wonder why she wasn't more discrete."
Heero shrugged. "I'd suggest you don't ask."
"And why not?"
"Because you need to rest."
Chase snorted.
Anna entered the waiting room without so much as a word. She walked strait to Quatre and whispered something in his ear. He gave a startled gasp. "Are you sure?" he managed.
"I'm not wrong."
He nodded. "Oh! Chase should be awake. Heero's in with her."
"I assumed as much."
"CHASE!" a frustrated yell came from down the hall. The doors were flung open and Chase Yuy stepped through them, buttoning the last button on her shirt and running thin fingers through her hair. Heero followed behind her, looking frustrated and worried, two emotions that looked foreign to his pale features. "You're suppose to-"
"So are you, boyo, but I don't see you lying in any hospital bed," she snapped. She turned to emerald eyes on Anna. "Hello."
"Good morning."
"You did it."
"I did."
Chase watched her for a moment, emotions playing through her eyes and threatening to move to her impassive face. She took a breath as if to say something, but bit her tongue and moved past the group. A couple of nurses started to reach out and stop her, but were shaken off by the glare they received. "Isn't she?" they began, but Heero shook his head, telling them to drop the matter.
The petite pilot had no patience to wait for the elevator, but stormed down the stairwell. Her mind was in turmoil, along with her heart. It had all come so quickly. Ryuujin… What had been wrong with him to make him attack her? Why would he do that? What mission had he been mumbling about during their fight? None of it made sense. None of it fit together. She let out a frustrated yell and slammed her fist into the wall of the stairwell. "BAKA!" she screamed, flinging the door open at the bottom.
No one stopped her as she walked out of the hospital. No one dared. She walked out into the open, headless of the rain that poured around her. She turned her eyes heavenward and felt herself shiver. "Baka…" she whispered again, falling to the pavement on her knees and wrapping her arms around her own shoulders. "Doshite…? Why would you do such a thing? And why would Anna-chan-"
"Because she was protecting you."
Chase turned two emerald eyes back to where Heero was standing. His hair was plastered around his face, which was still far too pale, and his eyes held a swarm of emotions in them, all of these feelings for her. He knelt next to her, brushing the wetness from her face. He would have ventured to think that it was part tears mixed with rain.
"I don't understand it," she whispered as he pulled her close and helped her stand. They started down the street, Chase locked in her husband's protective embrace. "Why are we all at each other's throats, Heero? Ryu killed Trowa, then Anna killed Ryu… Why? Why does it have to be like this?"
Heero gave her a small, sympathetic smile. "You were always idealistic, Chase-chan," he said quietly. "You always wanted it to come out right. This world… Either of them… Neither are paradises. It's not a dream or a fairytale, it's war."
"But you're here, so that has to say something for a fairytale, doesn't it?"
He stopped and pulled her close, careful not to hurt her already injured ribcage. "Yes, I suppose it does," he said after a long while.
Chase nodded, holding tightly to his coat. "Is it weak to cry over someone you loved?"
"No," Heero answered. "It would be weak to do otherwise."
The couple looked up as the rain stopped falling around them. Their eyes found an umbrella overhead, and Odin Lowe chuckled from behind them. "Hello there," he said. "I see you're feeling better, Elise."
"A bit."
"I see you probably know about your friend."
"Yes…"
He gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, kiddo, you will all pull out of this. That's why you are who you are. You're brave and you're strong." He winked at the young pilot. "C'mon, love birds," he said. "You're both going to catch cold and be of no use at all."
Chase managed a smile as she stepped forward and gave Odin a hug. "Domo arigato," she whispered.
"Anyway," Odin continued as they started back to the hospital, "I think there's a friend of yours and you who need to clear some air between you."
No one had moved since the Yuys had left. Quatre looked relieved when they walked in and smiled. "They're never going to help either of you again," he chided softly.
"Let's hope we don't return to the hospital any time soon," Heero answered.
Chase stepped forward. "Anna…"
The taller woman nodded towards the stairwell and they entered. The sound of the door clicking shut was the only sound for a good minute or two as they stood there in silence. Finally Chase sighed. "I… I don't hate you, you know," she said after a long pause. "I could never really hate you. I'm just…"
"Grieving," Anna finished.
"Yes," her friend answered quietly. "And I'm tired, Anna-chan. Why are we killing each other off when we should be going for the new threat?"
"Because Trinity Barton is using us against each other." Anna's features softened slightly. "Things will get better, after it's over and done with."
Chase nodded and fell back against the wall, sliding down it with a loud sigh. "How many more will we loose in the process?"
"No more," Anna said firmly. "We will loose no one else. I won't stand for it. Will you? Why are you just sitting there, Chase? Wallow in this misery after we're done, but until then we are Gundam pilots and we should act as such. We are who we are for a reason."
Chase chuckled at this and looked up. Anna always had known how to get her going.
"What is it?" Anna growled with an indignant look on her face.
Chase smiled broadly as her friend helped her up. "Odin said the same thing, about us being who we are for a reason."
The taller pilot's eyes widened. "That idiot came back?!" she growled. "Oh… the nerve of him… Where is he?"
The Destined Soldier laughed. "Downstairs. Dying to see him?"
"Hell no!"
"Ha! He's not so bad!"
"He is! Argh…" She stopped, noticing the change of Chase's expression. The small woman had grown quiet and the light nature had left a serious one in its place. "Ne… Chase-chan?"
Chase reached forward suddenly and hugged her elder friend. There was a slight sob from the smaller pilot, but when she pulled away she was smiling, even though tears ran down her face. "Anna-chan, gomen ne…" She sniffed and ran her hand along her eyes. "Arigato."
Anna smiled a bit, returning the embrace. "Mou daijoubu," she answered softly. "Gambatte ne, Chase-chan. We'll get through this all."
The small pilot nodded. "Hai. And then we can live that fairytale, ne?"
"Ehh?" the elder woman asked. "What fairytale?"
Chase shook her head. "It's nothing, just a promise I'm making to myself. We'll see." She smiled again. "Let's go. We can't spend all day reminiscing about everything that's gone wrong. We should fix things now so they go right."
Anna grinned. "Welcome back, tamadachi."
"Hai. Good to be back in action."
"Zechs is being held here," Heero said as scrolled through the files he'd hacked into. "My plan is this: Chase and I will go in with Gundams and take the front that way. Duo and Anna should take the back door of sorts, and sneak in."
"I'll take the position at the computers," Quatre said as he stood from his spot. "But that leaves Wufei."
"Wufei should take the Tallgese," Heero said simply.
"No, he shouldn't," Anna answered before the Chinese man had time to protest. She gave him a knowing smile. "Fei-chan should come with Duo and I, I think. We'll need him on the ground more than you will in the Gundams."
Chase nodded, catching her drift that her husband would probably ignore. "That sounds like the plan, then."
"I'll do what I can to help Quatre," Odin said.
Chase grinned at him. "You've been so quiet I almost forgot you were there. Too bad you don't pilot mechas, ne? You could take the Tallgese."
Odin shook his head in protest. "I do not pilot Gundams. I leave that to the experts."
"Then it's settled," Heero said as he stood. He looked around at the group. "We will have complete radio silence until I contact you to do otherwise."
"Right," everyone answered him in chorus and left for their jobs as had been stated.
Chase stayed behind, tugging on her husband's jacket. "You think Zechs'll be all right?"
"Of course he will be."
She smiled and embraced him. "Aishitaru, Heero," she whispered.
He allowed a small smile to grace his thin lips. "Aishitaru, Chase-chan. Itsumo."
A/N: Gomen to Anna-chan for the long wait on this not so long chapter. ^^;;; My laptop crashed and I had to rewrite it all. Blah… That and finals… Evil school. Evil English class.
Enjoy ^^
Oh! "Itsumo" means "forever" or "always" to anyone who doesn't know. Lol, my favorite Japanese phrase ^_~
