Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Jimmy Eat World, or Lifehouse.

This chapter is dedicated to yaeko, WickedGame, gymnastics-lover, Fire-Hawk-1986, sketch13, darklady919, and Kohana Fields for reviewing Chapter Six. Thank you for your support.

Chapter Seven

Live your precious life,
You beautiful boy.
Know that we love you,
I love you,
So much it kills me.
That is why we die, you know.
You die because of our betrayal.

Oh, but God I believe,
I believe in you.
You will save us,
You goddamned beautiful boy.
And when I die,
For I will die early,
It is for you.

I turned to look at Duo's face, stroking his hair that had come out of the braid. It had been four hours since the last seizure. Iria returned and Duo received blood and new IV bags. After the others left, Iria told me that the safest thing for Duo to do at this point is to go into a comatose state for recovery. She said it was impossible to estimate the amount of brain damage Duo might have incurred from the drugs while he was still unstable, but once he went into a coma, they would be able to get a firm idea.

Now alone again with my best friend, I sang him the songs I knew off of his albums, trying to do anything that might put his heart at ease. I didn't want him to go into an inactive state, especially if he had brain damage. He didn't need to suffer anymore. I stroked his cheek and kissed the top of his head,

"Duo, it's Heero. I want you to know that I'm here with you, and that it's okay for you to let go."

I sighed, trying to hold back my tears, wishing the hardest I ever have that he was hearing me. "I was going to tell you this at Christmas, but Mikoshi Inc. has almost enough profit to sustain the school. The kids that graduated have been sending their Preventors paychecks back to the academy, and the nuns have set up a college fund. Please, Duo, everyone here will be fine, you can go now. We don't want you to be like this."

As your tears stream,
I am so sorry.
I tried to change the world, to
Change us,
But it is hard, angel.
Please, do not cry.
We are not worth crying for.

In the numbness of losing the most important thing to me, I carried on humming, singing or just talking about anything I could think of, hoping I would hear the heart monitor give up and my love finally rest. Iria and the others came in and out over the next day checking on him. After two days I fell asleep, waking when I felt someone move Duo. I looked up to find Trowa wiping Duo's arm with a wet rag.

"What are you doing to him?" My voice was sore from overuse.

"We have to bathe him to keep away infection." Triton gave me a worried look.

"Let me do it." I took the rag from him and got between him and Duo. Slowly, I bathed Duo and put him in a fresh set of clothes. We transferred Duo to the local medical center in a private wing. I didn't allow anyone else to touch him, insisting they show me what needed to be done and that I do it myself. I awoke on the morning of the third day and Iria told me that Duo had gone into a coma.

Wufei came to visit that afternoon. We had been sitting in silence a little over an hour when his vid-phone beeped. His eyes widened when he saw the message, and without a second look sprinted out of the room and down the hall. Quatre ran in a couple moments later and told me that Sally had gone into labor and that everyone was going to the delivery wing. I stayed with Duo. By a stroke of luck, the mother and all three girls survived, despite being delivered six weeks early. Sally was to stay in the hospital for a couple of days and the triplets were placed in ICU.

I sent my mother a bouquet of flowers and a brief note explaining why I couldn't make it for Christmas. For a week I tended to Duo and refused to leave his side. I watched his videos over and over again, memorizing every word and movement of the precious friend next to me. The others came and went between Duo's room and the ICU center, Quatre and Trowa returning to work eventually, leaving me.

Sweep the dirty stairs, the ones I waited on.
This is just for me.
I felt it watching her.

Duo had been in the hospital ten days when Quatre came to visit me with a stack of papers in his hand. He looked very tired and disturbed as he set the papers on Duo's bed and sat down, running a hand through his bangs. I paused my vid player and waited for him to speak. He motioned to the papers,

"When Duo came into money he set up a living will, with everything going to me, and if I was not in health, then to Trowa and subsequently Hilde, Sally and Wufei. If you'd been alive and well, I'm pretty sure he would have set it up to go to you, so I asked Dorothy to change it."

I looked at the papers, not quite understanding the relevance, "He's already allotted his earnings to the school, and he is very much alive."

"Yes, Shoibi," Quatre sighed, looking at Duo, "but Duo also gave me power of attorney, should he ever be in a position where he can't make decisions for himself." I looked up at him, reminded of what Relena had said to me when I woke up in Sanq. Quatre continued, his voice much softer, "Iria says that Duo's chances of coming out of the coma are close to zero, and with the amount of brain damage he might have taken, he'll just continue to be in pain before his heart finally gives out. I knew you would want to be the one to make this decision, so you need to decide when you're going to let him go ahead and leave us."

The red rims around his eyes told me that Quatre had already cried his tears on the trip to the hospital. I opened the vid chip and saw Keiichi in a minister's robe in front of a gospel choir, for once truly smiling, everyone in the frame singing their hearts out.

"Cheer up my brother
Live in the sunshine
Wipe all those tears dry
And carry on

Cheer up my brother
Live in the season
Pray for good reason
And carry on"

Watching Duo's joyous face, it didn't take long for me to know what to do. I looked at Quatre, "Can you find something nice for Duo to wear at his burial, please."

I went home and packed a small suitcase and placed a call to my public relations executive for Mikoshi Incorporated. I ordered a glass room from a factory on L3 and had it sent to the school by the next day, then Duo followed on Quatre's private shuttle. Under Iria's strict caution, my love was rolled onto a platform in the courtyard of the Maxwell Tragedy Memorial, the glass walls of the house protecting him from the weather, a raised bed concealing the machinery he was using. Quatre found him a beautiful silk gown and a veil to cover his hair. I spoke with the headmistress and asked the entire school to convene in the cathedral.

Once the chamber was filled to maximum capacity with students and the black roses I'd ordered, I stepped to the front of the pews, stopping in the center.

"My name is Mihoru Shoibi. The headmaster for this school has become critically ill due to the stresses of his career and attempts to support the Forsaken. He has fallen into a comatose state that doctors expect will lead to his death in the coming weeks. As his closest friend, I have inherited his will and therefore the Academy for the Forsaken is now under the patronage of my company, Mikoshi Incorporated. As such, the guidelines for your lives are going to change."

When I mentioned Duo's situation, the cathedral became silent as death. Some of the children near the windows looked out at the curtained glass chamber in the courtyard that everyone had passed on their way in. I swept the crowd with my glance, catching everyone's eyes and locking them in.

"The graduates of the academy are building a college fund for the current classes. Every future graduating student is expected to be admitted to an institution ranked into the top ten percent in the Earth Sphere, also earning enough scholarship to pay at least one fourth of their education without relying on the college fund. Each collegiate student will be monitored and is expected to stay within the top ten percentile of students at the institution. They must graduate in a technical discipline that yields at the very least the living cost of one student at the Academy each year. The graduates will use their salary to sponsor current students still at the Academy. When there is enough room, this school will take in the rest of the war orphans on the L2 colony and the children from the former prisoner camp on L3.

"When all colonial children are accounted for, the profits of Mikoshi and Forsaken will go to the orphans of the Moon and Earth that were our enemies in the war. The leaders of E.S.U.N. are instigating a global anti-poverty campaign that this school will participate in by taking the world's youth and educating them until there is no child left behind. Therefore, it is your duty to abide by your new contract, if not for the sake of your own future and of other orphans, than for the man lying in the courtyard that sacrificed himself for your well being."

Spinning and spinning
Do you believe in what you want?
Dancing in plastic shake-up snow
Do you believe in what you want?

The inhabitants of the cathedral were dismissed as my public relations executive called to give me the number of the shuttle I was to board. For the next six months, I visited all the major cities of the Earth Sphere and told them about Duo. The owner of Mikoshi Incorporated was best friends with the fallen pop star, having met while defending Relena Peacecraft and the Sanq Kingdom during the wars. Keiichi Sei was an orphan from L2 that came to Earth to fight, wanting nothing more than to support the other kids on his colony and orphans everywhere.

The word of Keiichi Sei's fate spread like wildfire through the Earth and Colonies. I was on the cover of every magazine and the guest of every television station. Everywhere I went, Keiichi's posing form could be seen on the public vid screens, his smile gracing shop windows and billboards. My dancing friend followed me from city to city, propelling me forward to share the love I never once felt for another person until I learned to love him. Despite the number of times I had watched and memorized his videos, I always found myself stopped in the middle of the street, looking up at Duo.

Remember me, she says smiling
Write my name somewhere safe.
Touch and taste
Fades with space
I'll never be who you dream.

The native people were buying his vid-chips and posters right and left, cheering when they saw their favorite song come up on the street screens. I'll never forget stopping in the middle of Times Square in New York City, not bothering to shield myself from the rain. It must have been a video off his second album that was released as a single, since the rest of the planned videos had to be cancelled. Keiichi Sei was clothed in a torn up military uniform, holding an assault rifle and lying in a trench. A plane flew overhead and Kei ducked, looking at the camera with scared eyes as debris fell around him.

"After all this time
I never thought we'd be here
Never thought we'd be here
When my love for you was blind
But I couldn't make you see it
Couldn't make you see it."

His eyes flickered to the side as he sang the last line. Duo pulled his cap further down on his head as he leapt from his current trench. Dirt and branches flew in the air from ricocheting bullets as Keiichi Sei ran for the nearest foxhole. A young soldier was in the trench, reaching his hand out to Duo, but when he was only feet away, a grenade landed and blew the entire foxhole in all directions. As the guitar increased in volume, Duo's eyes widened and he began screaming for his friend, other soldiers trying to hold him back. The scene changed to Keiichi drawing his sword in a military procession as a casket was carried past, alternating with flashes of him collapsed in the middle of a deserted parking lot, the pouring rain soaking him through as he tried to sing and cry his eyes out at the same time.

"That I loved you more than you'll ever know
A part of me died when I let you go."

Mikoshi Inc. gained so much popularity that the stocks rose high enough to support the school for over ten years. I immediately merged with Winner Enterprises and began construction on additional dormitories for the Academy. The publicity on the plight of L2 increased pressure on the courts, and W.E.I. was given the right to purchase L2 and bid for the other colonies within twelve months. I met up with Relena and spoke at the launch of the E.S.U.N. anti-poverty campaign before returning to space.

The courtyard of the academy became a tourist attraction, with hundreds of people visiting Duo's glass memorial. Poor teenagers brought roses and rich contributors pledged to begin building similar schools on Earth.

It was with a heavy heart that I returned to my apartment at the L1 Headquarters. I tried to get some sleep in my bedroom but was only tortured by hallucinations of the war and Duo. I eventually opted to pull myself out of bed and finish the updates on the warfare security system for Preventors. I checked on the updates for the next line of Mikoshi software before packing for an indefinite trip to L2 and catching a few hours of rest.

The beeping of a message received on my vid-phone brought me to the next day. Quatre called to tell me that Wufei and Sally's girls were finally being released from the hospital and that the couple said they wanted me to be there. I drove to the hospital, feeling a little guilty about never visiting the girls even when I spent weeks in the same building with Duo, although I did check up on Sally a few times.

Quatre lept into my arms the minute I reached the waiting room, Trowa smirking from the doorway. Quatre'd been a great help in my months of campaigning for Duo, using contacts to arrange interviews that I normally couldn't get as just a new entrepreneur. I clutched him tightly, noticing how much I had missed human contact all this time.

We entered the room assigned to Sally and Wufei to find them locked in a deep gaze, both holding a baby in their arms. I remember being startled by the intense look of love on my friends' faces. I recalled Quatre telling me of how Sally had lost her husband during the war, and knowing of Wufei's feelings for Treize, I wondered how in the world you can move on to someone after you've lost your true love. Triton and Quatre huddled around a cradle to the left of Sally's chair, Quatre cooing and scooping up the third girl.

"Here, Shoibi!" Quatre turned with an exuberant face, placing the child in my arms when I came near. I gasped loudly, afraid I would hurt it. Quatre arranged my arms so I was supporting her neck,

"Isn't she beautiful? Wufei and Sally have named her Li Ming (1)."

I peered down at the girl. Her jet black hair and dark eyes were just like Wufei's, but her face and skin color more closely resembled Sally's. Normally I would denounce children as liabilities, but the world is no longer at war, and I had seen how happy the Forsaken children made Duo. I wanted these girls to bring that kind of happiness to Sally and Wufei. I stood there with Li Ming for several moments. Trowa carefully reached into my arms and lifted her into the air, a huge smile on his face. I stood in bewilderment as Quatre tickled the girl's feet, and as she made little gurgling sounds, Trowa burst into laughter.

I turned around to find Wufei behind me with a girl in his arms. He did not look at the child but straight into my eyes. Quatre and Triton fell silent as Wufei sighed,

"When Sal and I found out we were having triplets, we knew that a doctor and executive agent could not afford to properly care for three children. We decided from the beginning that we would have to adopt out two of them. Quatre and Triton have signed for custody of Li Ming, and Duo had planned to adopt Xia He (2)."

I looked at Wufei. He took a deep breath, "It appears that justice heeded Duo's wish to bring you back in exchange for himself, and since you have inherited everything that was his, you also get our youngest."

I looked at Sally, who was sitting with the first child fast asleep in her arms. Wufei continued,

"We considered Milliardo and Noin on the Moon, but they are looking into starting a family of their own. Relena cannot because the heir to the throne must be the first natural born son of the King, which apparently will be Milliardo's first child, despite his renouncing of title. The boy that Relena was set to marry at birth was killed in the attack on Sanq."

I see it around me, I see it in everything.
I could be so much more than this.

With one hand high, you'll show them your progress.
You'll take your time, but no one cares.
No one cares.

I stepped to the side so that Quatre and Trowa could see me as well, "Although I have the financial means of support, I am not capable of properly raising a child."

Quatre chimed in, his arm around his lover's waist as Trowa held Li Ming. "We contacted Duo's friend Hilde on L2, and she offered to visit often and help you with anything, as she had to raise a younger brother and sister, but does not make enough at the scrap yard to help Xia He."

Wufei stepped forward and placed the baby in my arms, "Stay here for a few months and learn the basics. Sally will still nurse, but when that is done you can take her home to L2."

We stood in the cold room, holding three precious girls, the soft music of the hospital lulling them to sleep.

But as I love you,
I know you will leave me.
You cannot stay
In such an impure place.

God, thank you
I got to see such a pure thing.
God, I'm finally talking.
Thank you, for him.

(1) Li Ming "beautiful and bright"

(2) Xia He "pure and elegant"

Wufei and Sally's child: Yu Jie "pure beautiful jade"

A/N: I apologize for the delay, I have been incredibly busy because a classmate from high school was killed in Iraq right before Thanksgiving and a group of religious fanatics decided to protest at his funeral. I have been putting together a petition and encouraging people to write their state representatives requesting a distance requirement to be put in place for protesting at funerals (similar to some clinics and hospitals). If either me or my brother comes home in a body bag, I don't want my parents to have to listen to people scream outside the funeral about how we deserved it because we were "defending a condemned nation."

Thank you for reading, and please give me feedback or opinions on how you think the rest of the story should go if you have any. Happy New Year. -Keiichi