Kitty-chan 1: Time crunch! No time to talk! I don't own Gundam Wing! Enjoy! Review! Sorry it's been so long since I updated. School is murder. AH! No time! Bye!
Heero collapsed onto the floor of the room he had chosen as his own for now. They had finally reached another town about 20 miles from Yamagata. Suuchin and Katome's prison, according to Heero, was in Yamagata. That was where they believed Hilde and Duo were being held. They'd get them out, then go after the two politicians. Currently, they were staying at an old "uninhabitable" hotel. It may have been supposedly uninhabitable, but it would do for the short time they'd be there.
Heero looked at the plush carpet floor, his weight resting on his hands and knees. He winced, feeling the blood slowly run down his back and sides, soaking his green tank top. He sighed and laid down fully on his stomach. He knew if he lay here for a few hours, he'd die just the way he wanted. At the hands of the enemy. He closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of pressure receding with the blood. The pressure of his mission, the pressure of finding Maxwell, and fighting himself over Relena. The name brought calm to the raging seas of his mind.
"Heero?" Relena whispered, stepping into his room. She slowly flicked on the lights to see Heero prostrate on the floor, blood soaking the entire back of his shirt. "Heero! Oh, god, Heero!" she screamed, running over to him. She grabbed his shoulder, and yelled, "Trowa!" She turned back to the wounded man. "Heero, can you hear me?"
Heero's glazed eyes turned to look at her. "Relena?"
"Shh. it's ok Heero. You're going to be alright." Relena soothed, setting a hand on his hair.
Heero sighed drowzily. Normally he would have shooed her away for baby-talking him, but he was too delerious to do much of anything right now. He simply lay on the floor, trying his best to focus on her voice. Something in the back of his dulled mind begged him to hold on. He wasn't finished with something. He wasn't sure what, but he knew he needed to stay alive.
Trowa soon appeared in the doorway, and two other sets of footsteps followed his arrival, signaling Catherine and Quatre's approach. Something snapped in Relena's mind. "Trowa! You can't let Quatre in here!"
Remembering the towhead's trauma, Trowa nodded and turned to the two other, spreading his arms out to signal them to stop. "Trowa? What's wrong?" Quatre wondered innocently, halting his movement.
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with. I want you and Catherine to go and get me a large bowl of water and a rag." Trowa stated sternly.
"Trowa?" Katherine whispered, staring into his dark green eyes, a question in her own.
But Trowa would not answer it. With a steeled look in his eye, he shook his head. "Go, Cathy. Nevermind this."
Hesitantly, Catherine nodded and turned to Quatre. "Come on, Quatre. Let's go." She trusted her brother wholeheartedly. She needn't question him. With a backwards glance at Trowa, Quatre ran off after his best friend's adopted sister.
Trowa returned to the room and headed for a closet in the corner. "Trowa? What are you doing?" Relena wondered quietly, gently stroking Heero's hair.
"These old places probably had some type of emergeny first aide kid in them. Aha." He pulled a red and white box from the closet and dropped it next to the injured pilot. He knelt down and pulled the back of his shirt up to his neck. The wound was a ghastly sight. The bullet wound he had gotten when he first encountered the government agents had not completely healed, and had opened up to bleed once more. The newer bullet had impaled his back not an inch away from the first one. The newer bullet had not gone in as deeply since his leather jacket had offered some protection.
"Is he going to be okay?" Relena inquired worriedly, beginning to carress his cheek with her thumb.
"I'm sure he will be. He's the Perfect Soldier, remember? He's not going to be himself for a while, but he'll pull through." The wound properly analyzed, Trowa collected a candle and a box of matches from the emergency drawer. "How fast he heals depends on how much blood he's lost. How long has he been up here?"
"Forty-five minutes at most." Relena answered slowly.
Trowa nodded and took a rag from the first aide box. He dabbed blood away until he could clearly see the wound. He then held the rag over the two wounds and looked up at the girl. "Will you hold this? It'll slow the bleeding at the least." Relena nodded and obeyed. Trowa shook his hands free of some blood before lighting a single match and pressing the flame to the wick of the candle. After it was lit, he blew the match out and pulled a large pair of tweezers from the box as well. He held the metal in the flame until it glowed red, then began heating another part of them. After the entire set of tweezers had been sterilized, he looked up at Relena. "You may want to look away."
"Why?" Relena took her hand away from the rag, and Trowa pulled it away from the wound.
"I'm going to remove the bullet." Trowa tossed the rag aside, then continued. "If he yells or gives us any indication that he's in pain, he's in good shape."
"Huh? Why wouldn't he be in pain?"
"He wouldn't feel it if he's delerious enough." Trowa answered. Relena nodded hesitantly before turning her head to the side. Trowa bent down to whisper in Heero's ear. "Brace yourself."
Silence blanketed the room for a few minutes while Trowa worked. Finally, Relena's voice cut through the quiet. "When are going to get it out?"
"I just did." Trowa answered from behind her. Relena's head snapped to the front as Trowa held up the bloodied tweezers, a small red metal piece held between the two prongs.
"Heero!" Relena cried, putting a hand to his head. His glazed eyes stared straight ahead, half-open. He was awake, but not all there.
"Relax. He'll be fine. It'll just take a bit more time for him to recover." Trowa assured her. He pulled a white pad and a bundle of gauze from the first aide kit and began to wrap his back.
A scream cut through the hotel halls. Trowa and Relena's eyes shot to the doorway where Quatre stood, frozen. His eyes wide, his pupils mere, uneven dots in pools of pale blue. His face was sheet white and his body began to shake. Dammit! Trowa's mind cursed. He stood and began slowly inching toward his screaming friend. "Quatre?"
"They!" Quatre's voice cracked as he discontinued his screams.
"Quatre!" Trowa called, more force in his voice.
"They... they've come! They're coming!" Quatre's hands slid up his arms to grip his own shoulders, attempting to shield himself from his own mind's eye.
"Quatre!" Trowa continued to call.
"Trowa! What's going on?" Catherine cried, running up with a bowl of water and a rag. She nearly dropped the items when she caught sight of Heero in the room. She looked over at Trowa and slowly set the bowl down. She looked over at Quatre, her mind putting two and two together.
"I… can't… I… couldn't!"
"Quatre! Stop it!" Trowa took a step foreward, a hand extended.
"No! Stay away! You won't hurt them! Gotta save… Abdul!" Quatre shook his head vigorously, pressing his palms to his temples. Trowa paused, realizing that Abdul had been one of the Maguanacs killed.
"Quatre! Snap out of it! It's Trowa!" He yelled, attempting to stifle his emotions. Seeing Quatre in this state made it difficult.
Quatre took a quick glance at the brunette, then took off down the hall, stumbling, and hitting the walls occasionally. Trowa took a few steps toward his friend, but was stopped by his sister's hand. "Wait, Trowa. It's my fault Quatre saw that. You finish helping gloom- and- doom boy. I'll bring Quatre around."
Trowa looked after his friend, then looked back at Catherine's eyes. "Alright. Calm him down, Cathy." He turned and ran into the room, the bowl of water in his arms.
"I will."
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Catherine ran after Quatre, but the blonde had a headstart. She turned a corner as she heard his retreating footsteps, but she couldn't see him. He was well trained. He wasn't going to be easy to catch. Not until he stopped running, that is. For a while, she ran down halls, turned corners, ran up and down stairs, and simply followed her instinct. After she felt totally lost, she ran down to the lobby and began searching up. She got to the third floor, and noticed that the light to one room was on. She pressed her ear to the door, and heard a soft wimper come from within. She sighed, smiling gently. Quietly, she opened the door and flicked on the entrance lights, but kept the rest of the room in the soft darkness, illuminated faintly by the dim light outside. She closed the door behind her, and slowly inched her way into the room. Quatre sat in the far corner, hunched up against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest. He seemed to be rocking back and forth slightly, small whimpers escaping his dry throat. Catherine walked casually, yet slowly up to him. "Hi, Quatre." No response. He didn't even acknowledge her presence. She tried again. "Quatre? Can you hear me?" She knew he could, but it just seemed like the right thing to say.
His pale, dead eyes flashed her an accusing look, almost blaming her for his condition. He mumbled something angrily.
Catherine smiled gently and squatted down on her haunches to get eye level with him. "What did you say?"
"Get away… from me!" he cried, his voice still quivering.
"Quatre! It's me, Cathy. You know, Trowa's siter?" Catherine cried, losing her cool slightly in worry.
"S-Stop it! No more! Abdul! … No!… Rasid!" Quatre gripped his head, screaming again.
"Quatre! Quatre!" Catherine yelled. He seemed to ignore her, but he quieted his cries. Instead, he continued to hold his head, panting.
In a last effort to calm him down, Cathy threw her arms around his chest. "Quatre! Please! Snap out of it!" Quatre stopped shaking and leaned back against the wall. His entire body relaxed, and his eyes slipped closed. "Quatre?"
His breathing slowed, and returned to normal. His half-awake gaze shifted to the girl. "Catherine?" She looked at him and smiled, sitting up. He looked so tired. "What…?" he slurred. The woman pulled the man against her, resting his head against her shoulder. The boy made no struggle. He seemed as if he couldn't.
Catherine now felt a bit awkward. She didn't know what to do next, but she could easily guess that he was feeling rather vunerable now, so she attempted to console him. "Shhh. It's alright." She swished his hair out of his eyes, which were returning to normal.
"I… feel so… tired." He whispered weakly.
"Then sleep, Quatre. I'll stay here with you. You won't be alone." She whispered back. She rocked gently back and forth, and his body relaxed against her.
"But… what?" Quatre began, only half-awake.
"Shh… don't worry about anything right now." She cooed, continuing to rock. "Just sleep. You need the rest."
"But… I don't understand…" Quatre whispered slowly.
"You don't need to right now."
"I'm…" he seemed hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm scared." He stated quietly.
"It's alright, there's nothing that can hurt you now. Just go to sleep." She got no other response as his breathing slowed, and his eyes disappeared behind his eyelids.
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Trowa rushed back into the room, the bowl of water almost spilling over with all the movement. He set it down and soaked the rag before wringing its contents out over Heero's back. The water wrung from the rag washed a lot of blood away, and Trowa used the rag itself to wash the rest off. He got a brown bottle of disinfectant out of the kit, and gently poured a small amout out onto the wounds. He then washed the access disinfectant off with the rag (cleaned off in the bowl) and wrapped the man's back up with the gauze and large pad. As soon as he was done, he began packing the things away. "There. He won't be himself for a while. He's lost far too much blood. And I'm also not too sure how effective these materials are, considering how old this hotel is. But, it's the best we've got. Right now, and for a while, he'll be delerious. There's not much of the Perfect Soldier left in him for right now."
"Alright. You go get cleaned up and go check on Quatre. I'll stay with him." Relena suggested.
"You sure?" Trowa wondered, slipping his hands under Heero's shoulders and knees.
"Yeah. You go ahead. If anyone can help calm him down, you can." Relena smiled as Trowa lifted Heero off the ground. He carried the man out the door and into the hall. The girl followed, a confused expression in her eyes. "Where are we going?"
"We'll put him on a clean surface. We can put him in the next room over." Trowa entered the indicated room, setting the man down on the made bed, then dashing out the door to look for his sister, and best friend.
Relena pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, never taking her eyes off his still form. Heero lay there, staring at the ceiling. His eyes portrayed neither life, nor death. Nothing. "Uh… Heero?" His eyes wandered around, as if searching for the voice. Eventually, they landed on her. She smiled gently. "Hi, Heero. You alright?"
"Relena?"
"Yep, it's me." She smiled, tears brimming in her eyes.
He stared at her, his vision so fuzzy he had to identify the form next to him as Relen simply by her voice. "Relena."
"I'm here." She didn't know what else to say. He wasn't requesting anything, he wasn't stating anything. He was simply saying her name.
"You… you're…"
At least he said something other than my name. "What about me?"
"You're…" his shaky hand slowly journeyed toward her face until his calloused fingers touched her cheek. They gently carressed her tears away. "You're crying. Why?"
Relena's eyes slightly widened. She then gave an angelic smile. "I'm just worried."
"About what?"
"About you?"
"What?… What's wrong… with me?"
"Don't you worry about that now. You just need to focus on getting better. Just go to sleep." Relena took his hand away from her face and cradled it in her own.
"I… I can't sleep."
Relena almost laughed. She felt like she was speaking to a child. "Why not? Have you tried?"
"No. I don't want to sleep."
"Why? You need sleep. You won't get better if you don't."
"I don't… trust them."
"Huh? Who are you talking about?"
"Them."
"Who's them?"
"I don't… know. But I don't trust them. I can't sleep while they're around. I won't sleep while they're around."
"Well, I'll protect you." Relena offered gently.
"No, I don't trust them."
"Heero, I'm not them! I'm Relena." She pushed.
"No, I will not trust them. I won't sleep."
"Heero, They are not around. You need sleep." He's not making an ounce of sense. Then a thought struck her. Oh, I forgot. He's delerious, so he shouldn't be making sense in his condition. "I'll keep Them away from you."
"No, I don't trust…" Heero trailed off, sitting up in the bed, a look of what seemed like realization on his face. Really, his mind was completely blank. He sent a piercing glare at her before attempting to stand. But, suddenly his legs seemed less then sollid, and he fell to the carpeted floor, jarring his wound, and drawing a grunt of paint from his throat. Relena stood, a patient smile on her lips. I'll help you Heero. Whatever that means, I'll help you. She knelt down by his head and began to slowly stroke his hair.
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Trowa entered the room. He had seen the light coming from under the door, and figured this must be where his sister and friend were. "Quatre? Catherine?"
"Shh!" Catherine cried from her place in the corner. "Quatre's asleep." Trowa allowed a smirk to curve his lips and sashayed over to where the two were, trying not to make a sound.
"My sister is a miracle worker. Who knew you'd be able to calm him down that quickly? I thought you didn't like him."
"Well, I thought about the whole idea of you and the others. I finally made myself realize that the reason you fight is not because Quatre tells you to, but because that's what you were raised to do. It's not Quatre's fault you became a Gundam Pilot. And besides all that, I should thank him. He has saved your life, and our entire colony before." Catherine explained. Trowa knelt next to her and sqeezed her shoulder a bit.
"He is a very kind person. He is the kind of person that I cannot contend with. I could never show kindness toward someon who did to me what Dorothy did to him, but he managed it. He has shown me kindness when I rejected him as an ally. I am proud to call him a brother."
"Yes. If you consider him a brother, then I welcome him to our little siblings-but-not-family." She smiled gently. Trowa couldn't help but allow yet another smile to grace his elven face.
"Thanks, sis. After what he's been through, he needs family more than ever now."
"Then we'll be here for him." Catherine continued smiling and Trowa simply nodded.
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Relena sighed and leaned backagainst the wall, tempted to fall asleep herself. Heero had not moved after he fell, so Relena had gathered his head into her lap, and he soon fell asleep. It had now been an hour since then, and her legs were starting to go numb. He now slept peacefully, and Relena couldn't help but notice how beautiful his face was. His sharp facial features gave him a mature look, and his cool prussian eyes only added to it. She was even tempted to run her finger along his high cheek and jawbone, but she thought better of it. It could wake him. She wouldn't want that. It would be unhealthy for him, not to mention awkward to her. She thought about the very fact that he was asleep. Heero was brought up to trust and care for no one, and yet, he fell asleep in my lap. He is completely open to attack when he sleeps, and yet here he is, laying in my lap. Thank you for trusting me, Heero. "It means a lot to me."
"Huh?" Heero looked up at her face. She hadn't even noticed him wake.
Relena blushed. Did I say that out loud?
"What means a lot to you?" Heero sounded a bit more like himself, but his words still lacked force and were slightly slurred.
"Uh… nothing. How do you feel?"
"Like a train wreck." He confided, shifting his head a bit.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Whatever."
"Do you remember what happened?"
"It's a bit fuzzy. I don't think I want to know the details, though." He looked around the, otherwise, vacant room. "Where is everyone?" He wondered, his voice slurring even more as he neared unconsciousness again.
Relena didn't feel like explaining the deal with Quatre right this moment. "They're doing their own things."
"They aren't here, are they?"
"Who?"
"Them."
Oh boy. Here we go again. She'd play along. "No, they're not here." It was almost funny how she could be lying and not even know it. For all she knew, he could be talking about the dust mites in the bed beside them.
"Good." His eyes slipped closed and soon his breathing slowed.
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Two days quickly passed since the Heero and Quatre situation had ocurred, and Heero sat on the couch in the lobby, flipping through channels on an old tv, hoping to get some information on Suuchin and Katome. Thus far, there was nill. He reached a news station and kept it there. For a moment there was something about their previous residence, the Oz base, then it switched to something very familiar. Heero paused, then called, "Quat!" He stopped in mid-sentence. Oh my god. He watched in horror at the telivision screen as it depicted a riot. Quatre would not do good to see this. It certainly wasn't anything that affected their current mission, but man, it would affect Quatre sooner or later. He stood and flipped the tv off. He heard a creak in the floor and turned to see something disappear around the corner. Sensing someone behind the corner, he drew a daggar and persued the person. He stopped in his tracks. "Quatre…"
Quatre smiled, though he was shaking. His breathing was heavy, but he did not scream or yell. Heero sheathed his daggar and fixed the boy with a steely glare, though pity was buried deep within. Quatre looked up at him, tears already cascading down his pale cheeks. Heero sighed. "I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could think of to say. It wasn't exactly like him to say something of the like, but his mind was a bit jumbled ever since the incident with the gunshot.
Quatre's smile eventually fell and he dropped to his knees. "So that…" he began, his sobs breaking his words up. Heero knelt before him and bowed his head. "… Master Quatre… might…" he covered his face with his hands, his sobs still silent. "… live." Heero stayed by his side for the entire time the boy was grieving. After about thirty minutes, Catherine and Trowa appeared, Relena close behind. Catherine and Trowa knelt beside him and immediately asked what was wrong.
Catherine looked to Heero for a response. Heero shook his head. "I will not answer any questions. Do not push him. Let him be. When he is ready to tell you what has happened, he will." With that said, Heero walked off, leaving the others to tend to the grief stricken boy.
Another day crawled past, and Heero and Quatre seemed to be getting back to normal. Quatre seemed to have zoned out but was putting on the face that nothing was wrong. He acted like his cheerful, light-hearted self as always, but everyone could tell it was a façade. No one questioned him on it however. Heero's warning had made them all keep quiet about it. Heero didn't usually fiddle with emotions, but when he did, it was usually serious. Heero himself continued to talk of a Them. No one had any idea what he was talking about, but they went along with it. They figured it as a side effect of his blood loss.
"We need to get going. The government will catch up with us if we stay here much longer, and I don't want to be around when they find us." Heero said suddenly one day, packing up his black bag and heading out the door.
"But are you well enough to drive your motorcycle?" Relena wondered, putting a hand on his arm.
Heero glared at her and pulled his arm away. "Hn…"
Relena stood still. Heero promptly turned to walk out the door. "He seems back to himself." She said, walking back to where Catherine, Trowa and Quatre were standing.
"Hmm... there's only one way to be sure. Heero!" Trowa called running up to stop his journey to the garage. "Why are you so rude to Relena? You could at least show some respect for the Vice Foreign Minister of Earth. She deserves an answer once in a while."
Heero glared daggars at the performer. "Trowa?"
"What?"
"Omae o korasu."
The decision made that Heero was in fact well enough to drive, the group packed up. Trowa loaded everything into the car. Catherine and Quatre had already climbed into the car when Relena paused. "Dangit!" she cried, climbing back out. "I'll be right back. I forgot something in the hotel room." As she disappeared back into the lobby, Trowa also let out a curse.
Heero groaned. "Now what?"
"I'm almost out of gas. I'll be right back. I gotta go get some." Heero nodded and the black Toyota pulled out and drove away, not pausing to let its two passengers out.
Relena came back out carrying a small bag. She looked between Heero, who was fiddling with his laptop, and the spot where the Toyota had just been. "Where'd the others go?"
Heero, not taking his eyes off the laptop screen answered, "Trowa had to get gas for the car. He'll be back in a bit."
"Oh. Ok." Relena sighed and silence settled over the parking garage. Relena looked the motorcycle and its owner over once in boredom, then continued to study her old worn out white tennis shoes. She stupidly scuffed her shoe against a rock she found and attempted to make small talk. "So… what are you going to do after this whole confinement act thing is over?" You know the answer to that you moron! Great way to start a conversation! She mentally berated herself, resisting the urge to slap herself.
"You should know the answer to that." Heero said monotonely.
Relena sighed sadly. "Heero, why do you want to die?"
Heero paused, then repeated something he said when he first woke up at the Sanc Kingdom. "My past is bathed in blood. Death is my only alternative."
"Heero, there's more to life than death!"
"Maybe for you. But for me, it's not that simple."
"Why? If you would just give up the fighting, you could live a normal life! There's more to life than pain! More than suffering! More than death! There's joy, fun and love! Heero, have you ever been loved by someone?"
"Irrelenvant. Love is a hindering emotion that blinds one to reality. Accountability on a person in love can, and will, absolutely plummet."
Oh, shut up, Computer for brains! "Heero! Statistics have no place in emotion!"
"Emotions have no place in war."
"Heero, life is not all about war. War is something that destroys kindhearted youngmen, like you."
"War is something that all people deal with. War is something in the human nature. It completes a person. People like me can only feel fulfilled on the battlfield. That is what I was created to do. I was created and molded to fight."
Relena sighed and gave up the argument. There was just no use arguing with him. He had his mind set, and it wasn't going to change. However, she silently said a prayer that some of what she had said had gotten through to him. Trowa soon pulled up and they left for Suuchin and Katome's prison.
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