Regret.

It ate away at Duo, slowly chewing away at him as he waited by the small cell phone, knowing that it was the only, and closest thing, that they could connect to Heero with. So, after the sounds of sirens and the abrupt disconnection, they had waited minutes that seemed hours.

Even though, he found himself blaming him once more for not being there for his friend before all of this turned into something more. Then, there was the little voice whispering to him from the darker shadows in him, telling him that it was that woman's fault. She could have called them and answered their questions, she didn't have to make Heero go to the city.

Duo could tell he wasn't the only one worried, Quatre nibbling his lower lip, which meant sure stress. Trowa was as stoic as ever, almost like Heero in that aspect. They were always the silent types. Wufei was so tense that you could throw a brick at him and it would probably bounce right off him.

Much as he wanted to test that theory, he left it alone. Now was not the time for the Jokester Duo, but silent and worried, the true and loyal friend Duo.

"What?" Wufei hissed, noticing Duo's eyes longer on him for longer than the other two. "Maxwell daring not to make a comment?"

Sakura looked up, glancing between Wufei and Duo before lowering her gaze once more.

It was none of her business, the same thought running through the other pilots (well, at least Wufei and Duo) mind.

"Only for you, Wu!" Then, Duo blew him a big raspberry, grinning all the while.

Wufei's face turned red with indignity and he clenched his fists, anger rolling off of him in folds. "It'sWuFEI MAXWELL!" He all but growled like a bulldog defending it's territory.

"I never did like bulldog's." Duo blinked, looking up to see the confused look on Quatre's face, the amused expression nestled in Trowa's emerald green eyes, and then the furious Wufei, who thought he was being compared to a bulldog.

Oops, did he say that out loud?

"Oops is right, Duo." Duo turned his gaze back to Wufei.

"Uh…guys?" Sakura whispered, knowing it wasn't her place to speak, but not wanting the guys to fight it out. She knew that they were mad at her, placing the blame of this situation on her. She knew she had to take the responsibility, even though it wasn't really all her fault.

Wufei pointedly ignored her and Quatre, well, he gave her a sympathetic glance. "There's no use trying to stop them." Trowa nodded at Quatre's words, not really being a man or teen of words.

"Why?" She found herself questioning, the word slipping through her lips, uncontrolled.

"Why that they fight? It's a good way for them to get it out of their systems. Plus, they seem to be closer now. Wufei knows it's in Duo's personality to joke around."

She found herself staring with wonder at the blonde, shifting her gaze to look at each of the individual heroes that helped end the war. Awe wasn't something she was used to, but this was amazing.

These four children had thought themselves against one another, even the simplest or meanest thing that they seemed to do to one another seemed to mean something else, a silent oath of some sort.

"Eh heh…" Duo scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously as he looked at Wufei, whose temper had grown so much that he almost resembled a steaming tea kettle. "Not that I'm comparing your to one…"

Ah, the perfect way to start a new day.

Then, the cell phone happily started ringing.

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Innocence Taken

By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

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Accusations, Part II

Heero found himself struggling—not to stay conscious, but rather the opposite. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want to stay in the sun and let it warm him numbingly cold skin, make him feel something he didn't want to feel.

Why wouldn't everyone just least him alone?

The only person that he even enjoyed the company of now was his forever best friend, or more like friends, the shadows. They didn't look at him with pity and regret. They weren't afraid to touch him.

Was he dirty to them? Because he was to himself…

"No!" Tears clung to his eyes, refusing to fall for which he thanked. He refused to crumble, to fall back into the light. He could see it, calling him away from the darkness.

Shadow fought off the light, wrapping around him until he sank into the tight and numb embrace. He couldn't feel anything, just the way he liked it.

The light flickered like a candle, dimming to a hazy yellow and slowly, it turned to gray, then black, and disappeared.

Only then did Heero relax, feeling at peace.

The world could, and would, go on without him.

Back on the shuttle making it's way to Heero's new location, Duo clenched his fists in both anger and frustration.

He had managed to close his eyes for a short while, calming himself down from wanting to hit something really, really badly, when a feeling of dread washed over him. He couldn't help but think it had something to do with Heero—or was.

If he had a choice of which he was chose for his friend, neither would be the case. His eyes snapped back open and he placed his forehead in his palms.

"Why can't we just live in peace?" He knew the other pilots were looking at him, each knowing how he felt and what he was talking about. It seemed that every year something had come up, from Mariemaia to this.

Not only that, but the situations were getting worse, more targeting them. Not to mention the hate letters they still received, muffling all of them on how in the world people managed to find them.

Duo never realized just how much those letters of hate and loathing, each expressing why and how in sometimes gruesome details, had an effect of Heero. He was always cool and collect, but Duo knew that Heero hated his past, probably more than any of them though he never spoke of why.

Sometimes, when he and Relena were talking, she would mention little bits of useless information of Heero's past she had managed to dig up or find.

He closed his eyes once more in memory, allowing himself to think back to those times when everything seemed so much more simpler. They were enjoy freedom—something that they hadn't had since the war, and even before while they were being trained to defeat OZ and bring the world back to order.

Someone up there had to give them credit, whether it was the God of Death or…well, yeah, whoever else was up there, for only having five teenagers help end the war.

That would be a good thing to put down on the resume.

Duo found himself chuckling darkly at the thought. He peeked open an eye to see a small glimpse of Quatre giving him a wistful smile. Ah the power of reminiscing.

He looked over at Wufei and drummed his fingers, having no where or anything to use for his output of energy. "Hey. Wu, what time is it?"

Wufei peeked an eye open, looking with his narrow and stern gaze at the braided American. "It's Wufei and we have about ten minutes until we reach landing. The hospital is near the airport."

"Why'd they do that?" Wufei shrugged and went back to meditating, not feeling the need to fight with Duo during the end of their flight.

Duo couldn't stop himself from sighing and shifting in impatience. They hadn't wasted any time when they had gotten the call that echoed through the house, so quiet someone could hear a bullet shell fall to the grass as if it fell on marble.

Relena had been informed and she was rushing just as they were, hoping that the thread holding Heero in place break in the perilous cliff he found himself hanging off of.

The two of them prayed for Heero and his safety, knowing it was pointless to try and fight one another for Heero's heart. There was a mutual understanding between the two, allowing the to…bond perhaps? The war, or at least the little skirmishes were at a stalemate for the moment.

They wouldn't risk such a danger to their breaking friend or loosing that friendship over their feelings.

"Can this shuttle go any faster?" Sakura froze when Duo's angry gaze landed on her. She fought a shiver, failing miserably.

"Duo…" Quatre reached forward, hoping to calm his raging friend, feeling the turmoil and fury radiating off of him in a tangible feeling through his 'Space Heart'. "Please."

His eyes held as much of a pleading tone as his voice. Duo ignored that, and him, leaning forward in his seat instead. "Why do you even care?" He didn't leave any room for her to speak or protest, "You're the one that thought 'it'll be great for him to go into the city!' miss 'I'm smarter than you cause I went to college and all that other—"

"Duo!" Hands on hips, Quatre looked like a scolding mother. Duo pouted and crossed his hands.

Sakura mumbled something and Wufei looked up, "What was that?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Inwardly, however, he found himself sighing—so much for the thought of not having any fighting or problems on the remainder of their flight.

"I said, 'You're right.' It was my entire fault for this situation for happening in the first place. If I hadn't assumed he was well enough to be out of—"

Trowa turned to look at her, raising his hand to halt her from speaking forward. The other three pilots were staring just as attentively at her as the stoic auburn. "Are you saying that Heero was sick?"

She nodded, eyes drifting down to hear an odd sound and flinched, visible enough on her face when she saw Duo clench the chair of the shuttle so much that you could see traces of it bending.

So the rumors were true about the Gundam pilots—not that she didn't assume it wasn't. Looks could be deceiving and the Winner heir was proof enough of that…

Heero wrapped his arms around him in the darkness, feeling the hands of that man that slammed him against the alley wall touch him like the doctors, telling him crude things saying words like 'slut' and 'whore'.

He felt the tears prickle on hiss eyes before disappearing, eyes wide as his breathing hitched, rocking himself back and forth on the balls of his feet. He knew this wasn't real. He didn't have to relive it. He didn't have to…

And, then there was the pain…the fiery pain that grew like flames from his backside, hurting more than the broken glass and the cigarette, hurting more than the words that cut like knives into his soul.

He tried to think of something, not wanting to relive the moment as the man threw cash in his face, whispering something in his ear and smirking. He knew he cried, the money remaining untouched a he shakily tried to hold onto whatever he had left.

Then, he realized, "I have…nothing…" His eyes were blank, no emotion except…acceptance to what was happening, to what happened. "I am nothing."

He felt something breaking in him as the wind blew against him, blowing off into the wind as the pieces traveled away, far from his pleading eyes.

Perhaps what broke was his sanity, or something more…

TBC

Author's note: Sorry it was so short…just got back from a birthday party and I'm dead tired…stayed up past two in the mornin'. Lots o fun though…sorry for the wait, I felt guilty about leaving the chapter like that.

Thanks everyone for the reviews! These chapters are kind of a bridge to what is going to happen. XD

Love, Red Tail