Wufei: Weak woman.
::grrs and yanks his ponytail, grins as he goes in a corner and sulks::
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
"Whatdo you think of when you see this picture," Sally asked, holding up a picture of the L1 cluster.
"Nothing." Heero said blankly. "Nothing at all."
"Well, how about this one?"
"Still nothing."
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Milliardo replied. "His memory is completely shot."
"Zeches!" Noin said, giving him a disapproving glare. "We're not going to give up on him." Milliardo flinched. Noin was about the only person who still referred to him by his old alias these days. Often times Duo would call him MilliZeches, but in most cases Noin would use his old name as a term of endearment or when she was mad at him.
"If I could remember more, I would tell you." Heero said somewhat apologetically.
"It's all right," Sally smiled, "It's not your fault. We can stop if you want."
Heero shook his head. "I'd like to keep going. If that's all right with y—"
"Hoi, Noin!" Duo's voice startled everyone in the room.
"Duo," Quatre scolded. "You shouldn't be so loud."
"You guys certainly look beat," Milliardo said, "How'd it go?"
"We totally got thrashed." Duo answered. "The Dark Claw is no joke."
"I knew I should have gone." Milliardo replied.
"You know that's out of the question,"Noin said. "Your job is here ruling this kingdom. You leave the Dark Claw to us." She turned to the other pilots. "What happened."
"You wouldn't believe it!" Duo exclaimed. "Not only does the Dark Claw have tons of mobile dolls, but the entire fleet is fashioned after that Scorpio Gundam Heero fou—"
Sally's hand clamped over Duo'smouth. "Ixnay on the Undamgay . . ." she hissed.
"Ohh yeah," Duo said after her hand was removed. "I forgot. My bad." Duo walked up to Heero with a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Heero, man, what's up?"
Heero gave him a puzzled look. "I know you?"
Duo looked hurt. "Of course you do!" he exclaimed. "I'm the best friend you've got."
Heero shook his head. "I don't remember." he said apologetically.
Duo blinked and then shook it off. "Don't worry about it!" he then said, slapping Heero on the back, earning a subconscious 'omae o korosu' glare. "We'll have that old memory of yours back in no time flat. Just you watch."
Sally walked over to them and placed her hand on Heero's shoulder. "Why don't you go get some rest?" she suggested. "We'll try to finish this up a little later." Heero nodded and then walked out of the room.
"Sheesh," Duo said, somewhat mortified, "how can he not know who I am?"
"He should consider himself lucky." Wufei replied.
"Has he made any progress?" Quatre asked hopefully.
"Not much." Sally answered. "Out of 25 pictures, he only remembered these." She set two pictures on the table for the others to look at.
"Hey," Duo replied. "I remember that one. That's the school Heero and I enrolled in together. Ojousan came looking for us there."
Quatre looked at the other picture. "And this one is of the school right here in the Sank Kingdom where Ms. Relena taught her views of pacifism."
"Could it be that Heero only remembered those scenes because they had to do with Relena being there?" Noin asked no one in particular.
Everyone in the room looked at each other. "Naaaahhhhh."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Before he knew it, Heero found himself once again in the darkness of his nightmares. Helooked around for the mystery girl that always entered his dreams, but she was nowhere to be found. Just then, the darkness faded away to a hill within a small city.
'Where am I now?' Heero thought to himself. 'This looks familiar, but….'He clenched his eyes shut in frustration. "Why can't I remember?"
A slight tug on his shirt brought Heero's attention down to his feet. Barely four feet tall, clutching a small puppy in one arm, a young girl no younger than 5 looked up at him questioningly. (AN: All right, if you've seen Endless Waltz, then you know this seen. However, I've changed it so that it will fit my own purposes. ::rubs her hands together:: Mwa ha ha ha ha - ::cough, hack:: ha ha. =P )
"Daijobu?" she asked. Heero glanced down at her and then looked away. "You can tell me if you want," She then said. "I wanna help you, Heero."
Heero blinked at stared back ather. "How do you know my name?" he asked.
The little girl just smiled. "I know a lot about you." she said. "I'm on your side." The dog in the little girl's arms yapped, causing Heero to look down at it. The girl held up the dog for him to see. "She likes you."
Heero looked at the dog and then back at the little girl. "You said you wanna help me, ne?" Heero asked. The girl nodded. "I'm looking for someone…. I don't know who she is, or what she looks like, but I have to find her."
"Why do you want her?" the girl asked.
"I-I don't know…." Heero answered, bringing a hand up to his head. "I just have to find her. I need her."
"Why do you need her?" The little girl's eyes locked with his. "You know the answer, you've just forgotten it."
Heero frowned in confusion. "What are you talking ab--" The rest of his sentence was drowned out by a large explosion. Buildings further down the street were reduced to rubble as mobile suits appeared out of thin air.
"25 Aries, 14 Tauruses, and 10 Leos…." Heero mused. 'Wait, how did I know what those things are…?'
The little girl screamed as flaming debris fell down from the skies. Heero, without thinking, shielded her with his body.
"Mary, Mary!" the girl screamed,reaching out to the puppy that had slipped out of her grasp, taking off down the street. "Mary! Yamete!"
"Leave her." Heero barked, lifting herup in his arms.
"No, no, no!" the girl sobbed. "I can't leave Mary!"
"You can't stay here, it isn't safe." Heerosaid. "Where are your parents, I'lltake you to them."
"No!" the girl explained. "You have to find the one you're looking for!"
Another explosion lifted Heero off of the ground, sending him and the little girl several feet from where they had last stood. Free from Heero's grasp,t he little girl took off in the direction of her lost pet.
"Mary, Mary! Come back here, Mary!"
"Hey!" Heero called. "Come back here!" Before he could go any further, an explosion separated him from the girl. "No…" He could not believe his eyes. Heero ran a few paces until he stumbled upon the little girl's puppy, lying on the ground. He knelt down and picked up the limp animal, clutching it close to his body. "She's gone… she's gone because of me…" A lone tear made its way down his face. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Heero woke up and found himself sitting on the daybed by the window his room. "Another dream…" he told himself. "Just another dream." He clenched his fists. "No, it seemed too real. That girl…" Heero shook away her image and grunted. Sitting up, he winced and held his side. Most of his injuries had healed, but he was still a little sore. He started to get up, but noticed a warm blanket had been draped over him.
'I know I didn't have this when I fell asleep…' he thought to himself. He shrugged it off and started to take off his shirt when he realized he wasn't alone in the room.
Relena Peacecraft lay on the bed fast asleep, with her honey blonde hair spilling over the pillow. Heero couldn't help but stare.
'How long has she been here?' He thought to himself. 'Has she been the onelooking after me all this time?' A sudden longing overcame Heero, startling him. 'What's with me?' he thought. 'Why do I feel this way all of a sudden?'
Relena slowly opened her eyes and felt another's stare upon her. Looking up, she saw Heero staring at her with his mouth slightly open. "Ohayo," she said sleepily.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Heero quickly responded, "Ohayo."
"How are you feeling?" she asked. "I came in earlier and saw you there, but I didn't have the heart to wake you. Did you sleep okay?"
"I slept fine."
Relena smiled and walked over and started folding up the blanket. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," she said. "There was some… business in the colonies I had to take care of. But now," She sat the blanket down on the bed and looked up at him. "I'm here to help you in any way I can."
Heero stared at her. "You're the one who's been looking after me all this time?"
"Not alone, but yes." Relena answered.
"Why?"
Relena blinked. Why not? "It's the least I can do." she said quietly. "You've already done so much for me."
"I have?" Heero looked at her questioningly. "Have we met before? Before my accident, I mean…"
Relena looked at him sadly. 'He seems so vulnerable, so innocent like this…' she thought to herself. 'I wish he could stay like this forever…' She shook her head slowly, chiding herself for the thought. 'It wouldn't be fair to him, Relena, you know that.' She looked up at Heero, who as still waiting for an answer.
"Yes," she replied. "Yes, we have met before. We've known each other for a couple of years now." Relena lowered her eyes. "I suppose you could say we are old friends."
Heero gazed at her. 'Whydoes she look so sad all of a sudden?' he thought to himself. The thought of her being sad or upset brought a sharp pain to Heero, causing him to place a hand over his chest.
This action did not go unnoticed bythe vice foreign minister. "Oh, are yo uall right?" she asked worriedly. "Maybe you should lie back down…"
"I'm fine." Heero replied, although he couldn't help but wonder where that sudden pain had come from.
"Well," Relena said, trying to lighten the mood. "Perhaps you'd like to get some breakfast."
"That's fine." Heero answered. "I'll be down a little later." When Relena gave him a concerned look, he then replied, "I'm just gonna change out of these clothes."
"In that case, you'd better hurry."Relena smiled. "If Duo catches on that breakfast is ready, there may not be much of a breakfast left by the time we get there."
Heero couldn't help but smirk as Relena walked out of the room.
End of Chapter 6
Author's Notes:
Miss Chang Po: Woo hooo! I finished all my finals! I am done for the year! ::does a little victory dance:: In the words of Dr. King, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank--"
Wufei: Well woopty doo for you.
Miss Chang Po: Darn straight! I even got a C on my Honors Chem final! ::keeps dancing:: Who's the girl? Who's the girl? Miss Chang Po, Miss Chang Po! Miiiissss Chang Po!
Wufei: ::blank expression on his face::
Miss Chang Po: ::grins:: I was reading some of the reviews you guys sent me. Thank you so much for responding! I really really appreciate it.
Wufei: Then maybe you should stop being so lazy and review more of the fics you read.
Miss Chang Po: ::laughs nervously and then looks ashamed:: Yeah... you're right.
Wufei: ::looks surprised::
Miss Chang Po: According to some of your reviews, some of you have figured out who the Mystery Pilot is already.
Wufei: I'm not surprised.
Miss Chang Po: Anyway, for those of you who haven't figured it out, don't worry, it'll be revealed soon... not too soon, but soon enough. Until then, keep reading. Thanks everybody!