Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
A Miss Chang Po Production
Chapter 17
"Mayomato"
The hallways of a large mansion, which normally at that time of day were completely silent save a few hushed conversations of servants, secretaries, assistants, and politicians, echoed with the voices of two girls.
"Can't catch me, Tasha, can't catch me!" A girl, about the age of fourteen or fifteen ran down the halls, giggling hysterically like a 5 year-old. Unlike the other girls her age, who wore dresses, skirts, and school uniforms, this girl satisfied herself with knee-high combat boots, wide-legged khakis, and tank tops under oversized men's dress shirts. She topped off the whole ensemble with a large black beret. A silver 'M' shaped pin on its front glinted in the sunlight. Her boots pounded on the newly polished floors, resounding off the walls. Behind a pair of dark sunglasses, her eyes twinkled in amusement.
Bringing up the rear in a more dignified fashion was another young woman, five years her counterpart's senior. Dressed in alight blue three-piece business suit sans the jacket, her ebony hair fell over her shoulders, blowing gently as she walked quickly along. Although her expression was one of impatience, her eyes shone with amusement. She stopped walking and stood with her hands on her hips, pursing her lips. "All right, Naya, that's quite enough." she replied sternly, almost in a motherly, chiding-type fashion. She then grinned impishly. "You're in enough trouble as it is, you don't have to drag me down with you."
The beret-wearing tomboy ahead of her skidded to a halt, turning to face her. "Where would the fun in that be?" she asked, blinking curiously. "Besides, you don't even know what I've done yet!"
Natasha tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let'ssee if I can guess. You… snuck out Tuesday night after Papa had you grounded for a month. Since then you've been out God only knows where doing God only knows what. You finally show up today, dressed as you are, running down the halls making a spectacle of yourself."
Naya shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants, tilting her head to the side. "I fail to see the problem."
Natasha sighed. "Today is Tuesday." Naya remained unphased. "It's been 3 weeks today since you left." Natasha shook her head. "Honestly, Naya, you can't keep doing this. Don't you know we worry when you pull stuff like this?"
Naya frowned. "Maybe you worry, but I know that ol' Vlad doesn't." she replied dryly.
"Oh, stop it already, Naya." Natasha exclaimed. "Where's this act getting you? You know our father, he's a very busy man. He doesn't have time for this sort of thing."
"Yeah right," Naya snorted. "It's not that he doesn't have time, he just doesn't care. The only reason he grounded me was to keep me from tarnishing the Mayomato family name."
"Naya!"
"You know I'm right." Naya frowned, pacing back in forth in front of her sister, slightly resembling the rebel leader she would someday grow up to be. "He doesn't give a damn about me. While he preps you up to be his little stooge to replace him when he kicks the bucket, I'm just the other child he pays no mind unless I get into trouble with the police or something. And far be it from me to get busted by the cops doing something illegal before he does."
"Naya, that's enough!" Natasha exclaimed. "I won't let you disrespect our father that way!"
Naya looked hurt. "You don't get it, do you?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "You really actually think he's as perfect as he makes himself out to be?" Natasha turned her head away from her sister. "He just got appointed Ambassador of the Mid-Eastern territories, didn't he?"
"That's right." Natasha answered, pleased that her somewhat alienated sister paid some mind to their father's work.
Naya folded her arms and scoffed. "How do you think he got that job, huh?" she asked. "By his integrity and charming good looks? He's got half of the old ESUN and Romefeller officials in his back poc-," Natasha's hand striking Naya across the phase cut off the rest of her sentence. The younger of the two sisters stumbling back, holding her cheek in shock.
"I know you're angry with Papa for ignoring you," Natasha exclaimed, holding her hand gingerly. Her face was pale and her expression livid. "But how dare you make up such lies!"
"Lies?!" Naya blinked in disbelief. She stood there silent a moment before breaking out into laughter. "You really believe he's incapable of doing any wrong? He's already turned you into his puppet!" She removed her beret to reveal a head full of long, bright green hair. Removing her sunglasses, coal black eyes burned with intensity.
Natasha took a step back. "What did you do to yourself?"
Naya touched her cheek gingerly, as if her sister's words were another smack in the face. However, she shook it off and grinned. "Life in the Colonies can do wonders for a girl." Her sister looked horrified. "Don't think of it as me doing this," she replied lightly, "but as dear old dad. It's his fault anyways."
"I don't understand…"
"I never expected you to." Naya interrupted. "I'll be honest with you… after I left here, I wasn't going to come back. You see, I'm going back to the colonies. I got a call from some guy named Barton, said I was just the kind of person he needed for a job. Of course, I can't go looking like a Mayomato, so…" At this point she spun around, giving her sister a clear view of herself.
"You can't go! You're way too young!" Natasha exclaimed. "What will Papa say?"
"I'm the same age as little Miss Queen of the world." Naya snorted. "Besides, like I care what Papa says. But anyways, the only reason I came was to pack my stuff, grab some credits, and say goodbye to you, and since I've just about done all that…" She started off down the hall.
Natasha gasped in surprise. "Naya, wait – you can't!"
Naya ignored her and kept going, grinning and singing softly to herself as she went. "Sodomu no yami… hikari no yami…kanata no yami… hatenaki yami…" (AN: Know what that is? If not, see the Author's note below)
The elder Mayomato sister watched her go in shock. After Naya had disappeared from sight, she took off down the hall in the opposite direction – where she knew she would find her father. She prayed he could put an end to all of this.
Relena watched all of this in stunned silence. At first she thought she was hallucinating, but the whole exchange between the two young women seemed too real to be false. When names started to be revealed, Relena knew for a fact that she wasn't just seeing things. However, she was still stunned nonetheless.
'What is this I'm seeing?' she thought toherself. Ahead of her she could see Naya and her sister arguing. As she looked behind her, she could see herself battling with the Scorpio Gundam. Was she in control, or was Arch Angel fighting on its own? She couldn't be sure. What she did know was that what she was seeing was an event in the past of Naya Mayomato. She stared in wonder. 'The Zero system is actually allowing me to see into Naya's past! I wonder if Heero has ever experienced this.' The thought of the amnesiac soldier caused everything around her to waver slightly, almost like a puddle after a rock has been thrown into it. It was then that Relena decided not to let her thoughts stray to him; not unless she wanted to find out more about her enemy.
"Naya, wait – you can't!"
Relena watched as the two women parted ways. She was stuck between who she should follow, if she was even capable to do so. Thinking it most logical to follow the one she knew the most about, she started off after Naya. However, as soon as she took a step forward, a large metallic hand blocked her path. She looked up to see her Gundam looming over her.
"Arch Angel…?" She looked in the other direction in which Natasha had started off. "You want me to follow her sister?"
Emerald green eyes glowed in response. The hand lifted up and the large Gundam disappeared slowly, its glowing green eyes fading into the darkness. Nodding decidedly, Relena turned and followed after Natasha Mayomato.
~*~*~*~*~
At first Relena had tried to be as quiet and discreet as possible as she followed the older Mayomato down the deserted halls, but she soon found that her precautions were not at all necessary. Somehow, through some act of her Gundam she was sure, she was able to go along unseen. No one could see her, or hear her; it was if she wasn't even there at all.
'Sort of like my life,' Relena thought dryly to herself. With a resigned sigh, she continued after Natasha down the hall.
Natasha stopped before a large pair of ornate double doors. Like an inquisitive child, she leaned towards the door, resting her head against the wooden surface in hopes of hearing anything from inside.
"…if everything goes as planned, it should be finished within the week."
Natasha heard a gruff laughter she knew did not belong to her father or any member of his staff. Slowly, so not to attract any attention from the room's occupants, she opened the door smidgen. Peaking inside, she saw her father, Vladimir Mayomato, standing in the dark corner of his office, discussing private matters with another figure in a trench coat.
"That's correct…" the trench coated figure replied. They paused, as if thinking for a moment. "That is, of course, if you have the proper funds."
"Yes, yes…you'll get what's coming to you." Natasha and Naya's father, a slim fellow, bespectacled with green eyes and thin graying hair, dabbed his face nervously with an embroidered handkerchief. There was a sinister gleam in his eye. "You understand that I can have no part in this."
"I told you already, relax---."
"Don't youtell me to relax! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble I could get into if you get caught?! My career would be ruined!"
"…Papa…?" Natasha blinked in confusion. In all her days she had never kwown her father to yell at any of his business associates. What's more, she had always believed her father to be concerned about the people and their well being, rather than his own wealth and career. The man before her was not the person she knew... or the person she thought she knew. Naya's words rung in her mind. You really believe he's incapable of doing any wrong?
Her father began speaking again. "Let me make myself clear... you tell Durmail that I expected to be completely reimbersed for this."
"Of course, of course, Ambassador."
"And I want you to make sure that no one finds out about this, I mean no one. Understand? You find any leaks, plug'em up. I don't care how you do it, just do it!"
What was going on in there? Natasha leaned forward a bit more, straining to hear. Unfortunately, in her efforts to do so, the large doors surrendered to her weight, creaking loudly.
Her father and his associate jumped up, looking towards the door. "Who's there?" her father called out angrily. Natasha cursed herself, backing away quickly.
"Leaving so soon?" A gloved hand rested itself onher shoulder. Natasha looked up to see a fierce looking man dressed all in black standing behind her. She had no time to run or even scream before she was forced roughly into her father's office.
Outside the office, Relena had no time to react before a feminine, strangled scream rang out, followed by complete silence.
"No…" she gasped, backing away slowly. "He wouldn't…he couldn't…" She shook her head in disbelief. "His own daughter…" She took another step into a deep abyss. With a scream she plummeted downwards, finding herself seated back inside her Gundam.
~End of Chapter 17
Author's Notes -
Miss Chang Po - Well now, whaddya think of that?
Wufei - I think you should start writing about me again.
Miss Chang Po - ::shoos him off:: Yeah, yeah, I'll get back to you. Anyways, I hope that answered some of your questions about Naya and Natasha. I'm sure you're still wondering how Relena plays into all of this... but I'll be getting to that shortly. Promise. .^ Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the other Gundam pilots or Heero. (How can I forget Heero?) He's coming up again soon.
Wufei - What about me?!
Miss Chang Po - I said I was gonna get back to you! Sheesh! Anyways, before I forget... for those of you wondering about the song Naya was singing (well, for those of you who didn't recognize what it was...) It was Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku, or Absolute Destiny Apocolypse I think it is in English... yes, it's from Shoujo Kakumei Utena. I can't think of the translation of what she actually said... but it's something like Darkness of Sodom, Darkness of Light, My own darkness, absolute darkness.... I figured it reflected her 'dark' personality. Corny, yes. But I happen to like that song, as well as the show. Good stuff. =)