Disclaimer: I don't anything within this story except Hiroku, the story plot, Rayne and Hisoka (there at the end). I will say that this story follows the Gundam Seed storyline and has direct quotes, but I added to them by bringing in an OC, so many of the episodes are word for word but then my character Hiroku comes in. So enjoy…and read and review please!

Chapter 4

"You so cheated! Admit it!" Yzak yelled at Dearka when their training simulation game was over. The game helped them with their accuracy and timing on the battle field.

"No I didn't! You're just a sore loser!"

"Me? A sore loser? As if!"

"Uh yea…"

"Hmph!"

"Yzak? If it would make you feel any better I will play him and beat him to show you that he didn't cheat and that he got beat by a girl." Hiroku suggested.

"Like that would help me out! I still lost to him!"

"Well if your going to act like that then I guess it doesn't help your cause any. I'll just play Dearka then for my own entertainment. You can go sulk in a corner or something, see if I care, cause truthful I don't give a damn!"

"Ouch…" Dearka said wincing from the words that Hiro had voiced.

"Serves him right. You think the whole world revolves around you. Well you know what it doesn't so get over yourself! God your all egotistical idiots!" She forcibly pushed herself out of the lounge room and headed back to her room to take a shower.

"Wow…it's a good thing she didn't have a gun with her. There could have been some serious damage done. You really know how to blow her top don't you?" Dearka said with a smirk towards Yzak. I know you like her so stop trying to hide it. Your really bad at it. He thought.

"Shut up Dearka! Its all her fault. She let's herself get so worked up about the simplest things."

"Well I can't argue with you there."

In Hiroku's room she had taken a shower and was now taking a short nap. She was propped up against the headboard with one leg extended out and the other pulled up towards her with her left arm draped across that leg. She was starting to pant and sweat in her sleep; you could tell she was having a bad dream.

"So Hiroku did you find that dress you were looking for, for the winter formal?"

"No Tina, I couldn't find it. I have looked all over for that dress I saw online but none of the stores have it.!"

"Well I know something that will make you feel a whole lot better!"

"And what's that Tina?"

"Free ice cream sundaes!"

"Haha…that sounds perfect!"

"Alright then let's go!"

The girls started walking down the busy streets in the shopping district of Aprilius One. Once they made it to the food court the huge TV monitors all around the city flashed on with an urgent message. When the screen came on it showed a picture of one of the PLANTS blowing up by a nuclear missile. After they kept showing that scene over and over again Ezalia Jule came on the screen and said that Junius Seven had been destroyed by nuclear weapons from the Earth Alliance Forces as a direct act of War. Everyone around gasped in shock and stopped completely what they were doing. Hiroku just stared at the screen, her ice cream forgotten.

"Mother…"

Hiroku sat up quickly from her nap and once her eye sight focused she remember that she was in her room aboard the Gamow. She calmed down slightly but was still rather shaken up about her dream. It haunted her to no end seeing her mother and younger brother die right in front of her eyes. Since that day and then the day that her father died she hasn't been able to sleep for more than three hours at night. It was going to catch up with her soon if she couldn't get enough sleep.

"I can't go on like this…"

She got up and floated out of her room. It was about three in the morning so she figured that everyone else would be asleep. She floated down the hall towards a huge window that showed you the vastness of space. There was a small window seat just below it. She sat down and just stared out at the black beauty that was space.

Mom…Dad…Trent…Rusty…

She couldn't control herself anymore. She folded her arms on to the window sill and cried the hardest she had ever cried since hearing of Rusty's death.

In the lounge, Yzak was by himself thinking back to what Hiroku had said to him. He knew that she was right but it still hurt.

"Serves him right. You think the whole world revolves around you. Well you know what it doesn't so get over yourself! God your all egotistical idiots!"

"Damn her! Why does she have to be so difficult. Just a couple days ago she being so sweet and comforting towards me when I got hurt. What happened? Well no sense on dwelling over it. What time is it anyways? Oh wow its three in the morning, I think I need to get some sleep." He got up and floated out of the lounge in the direction of his room.

While Yzak was floating through the halls to his room he heard what he thought was crying. He followed the cries and soon found himself staring at someone he thought he would never see in such a vulnerable position. He saw Hiroku sitting there on the window seat with her head on the window sill crying her eyes out.

I wonder why she is crying? Heck why would I even bother with her right now, she totally humiliated me in front of Dearka. I should just leave her here! Would you really want to do something like that? What are you saying? She may have been cold towards you in there but you know she could have been hiding what she really feels in front of the others. Remember how caring and gentle she was with you when you first got hurt, she was the one that came to your aid, now you should return the favor. Why should I listen to you? If you don't then you may regret not doing anything at all, or even worse another guy could come and comfort her and then think of how upset she may be with you because she came to your aid and you did nothing for her in return. I still don't trust you completely but I will admit, and only to myself, that I would hate myself if someone else got to her first. Well here it goes.

Yzak floated forward and took a deep breathe before he started speaking to her.

"Hiroku…"

Hiroku froze when she heard him call her name. She didn't want him to see her crying like this, she would be so embarrassed. She quickly wiped away her tears and turned towards Yzak who had just sat down next her, rather closely.

"What's wrong? Why the tears?" he asked softly.

"N-nothing is w-wrong." She answered looking down at her lap. She jerked slightly when she felt him pinch her chin with his index finger and thumb and tilt her head up to face him.

"That's a lie." He stated in a whisper.

"Why do you care anyways?" she asked in an annoyed tone while jerking her head out of his grasp.

"I don't know…I…"

"Why don't you go just bother someone else for a change." She stated coldly and getting up to leave.

Yzak somehow knew that if he asked her enough eventually she would tell him. And he wasn't going to give up now just because she was pushing him away. He felt himself naturally drawn to this girl and it made him feel comforted when ever she would speak softly or when she seemed worried about him. He was even starting to like the feeling he got every time he saw her and every time he thought of her.

Before she got too far, Yzak jumped up and grabbed her wrist holding it tightly.

She won't get away from me this easily, not now, not ever.

"What?" she asked in a rather pissed off tone.

"Talk to me…" he said leading her back over to the window seat to sit down.

"I don't want to…" she refused to look at him. The hem of her skirt became a pretty fascinating thing to look at.

It's her family, or lack there of.

"I know it has to do with your family." He stated.

She froze completely. How does he know? Oh no I can feel the tears coming again…daddy don't go…mommy I want to come…Rusty teach me how to shoot gun! She was remembering all off the last conversations that she had with her deceased family members. She couldn't stop the tears from coming now. She flung herself forward and cried into Yzak's chest. She clung to his shirt while he sat there shocked at her actions.

What the hell! What is she doing! Don't you even think about pushing her away. She is hurting right now and she needs you, even if she doesn't always seem like it. Alright, I'll listen to you this time. Maybe…maybe its not so bad to have someone who is seeking comfort from you.

Yzak's body seemed to move without him thinking and he found himself hugging her tightly and rubbing her back in an effort to calm her down.

"Shh…I'm here little missy…" he whispered.

"sniff I…feel…so aw-ful…a...and sniff help…less. Why would…m-my family…be-betray me like…they…d-did?" she was now crying harder and clinging to Yzak even tighter.

"You don't need to talk right now. You can tell me about it later. Ok?"

Hiroku just nodded in response. Her and Yzak sat like that for a while until Yzak glanced down at her and saw that she was asleep. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to her room. He wasn't hesitant this time with picking her up since he knew that they were coming closer and she wouldn't pull a gun on him just because she didn't like him. He got to her room and punched in the code and stepped inside. The door slid closed behind him and he turned the lights on. He walked over to her bed and set her down gently. After looking at her for a minute or two he decided that he should leave so she could get some sleep. He was about to leave her bed side when he felt something grab his hand.

"Huh?" he asked in surprise that she had grabbed his hand.

I thought she was asleep. Oh well, find out what she wants! Alright already! Sheesh.

"Please…don't go…" she pleaded looking up at him with small shiny crystal like tears streaming down her face.

"But you need sleep Hiro. I'll come back and check on you in an hour or so, ok?" How can you resist that face? I can't that's the problem, I want to stay but she needs…if she wants you to stay then stay dammit!

"No, please stay with me. I can't go to sleep anyways because I keep having nightmares of when I last saw my family." She looked away from him towards the ground. "I feel better when…when you're here with me…" she looked at him again with even more tears coming down.

"Alright, I'll stay." He got onto her bed and propped himself up with his back against the head board. He had thought that she just wanted him to sit there so she had a presence next to her but when she actually wrapped her arms around his waist and she buried her face into his stomach, he was shocked. He stayed that way for awhile and when he finally told himself that this was ok, that she really was in need of someone, and that he wanted to be the one to comfort her and be with her, he started to guide his right hand through her long hair. He felt her instantly relax into him, he loved the feeling, it just felt so right to him at the moment.

Yzak stayed up all night watching her sleep. She slept for a good five hours and at eight in the morning she woke up.

Hiroku eyes fluttered open. When they came into focus she found that all around her was something red and her head was against something soft but hard and was going up and down in the rhythm of breathing. She pulled her head away from her makeshift pillow and saw that it was someone's stomach.

O…k…this is weird… her thoughts were interrupted by the person that she had been sleeping on talking.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Yzak said with a smirk.

"Huh? Yzak? What are…I mean…how…arg! Why are you here?" she asked slightly frustrated.

"You asked me to stay with you after I carried you back to your room when you feel asleep on me when you were crying."

"Oh…yea…sorry…" she sat up all the way and turned her back to Yzak to look out the window on her wall. She had a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I was acting childish. I was being a pathetic crybaby and I'm sorry for acting that way in front of you…you probably think now that I'm some emotionally torn teenage girl that can't do anything but cry when something goes wrong."

"Now why would you think that?" he asked titling his head to the side.

"I just do okay!" she turned her upper body around to face Yzak and glared at him.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't think that?"

"Hmph…why would you care anyways…?" she said quietly turning back around.

"God woman! You are so infuriating!" Yzak abruptly got up off the bed and angrily floated to the door, he stopped right before he opened it.

"I'm sorry if I do care." He spoke with clenched teeth and fists. He didn't wait for an answer, he just exited the room hastily to head to his room.

Hiroku was rather stunned at his answer. He did care? But why? She fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling for a minute. Well I guess I better get my uniform on and go check on things with the Galaxy. She proceeded to take a shower and get dressed. Once she was finished she headed towards the hanger. When she got next to her machine Nicol was just going to his, the Blitz.

"Good morning Hiroku."

"Oh, hi Nicol!"

"Are you feeling better today? I heard from Dearka how you went off on Yzak. I must say that you are a very brave girl to stand up to him like that."

"Yea I'm much better, thank you. Yea I guess Yzak is just any easy person to vent my frustration out on. Plus whenever I have my gun handy I can pretty much get him to do anything I say." She answered twirling her gun around in her hands.

"Yea it's like you have him on a leash!" Dearka commented coming up to his machine, the Buster. He had that unbearable smirk on his face.

"Shut the hell up Dearka!" Hiroku yelled glaring at him.

"So I see that Dearka is starting early today with annoying people." Athrun voiced now coming to join the group.

"Oh hey Athrun!" Nicol said.

"When is Dearka ever not annoying anyone! Especially me!" Hiroku voiced.

"Because it's easy to get you worked up little missy. It's rather entertaining." Dearka stated.

"Why you!" she was about to pull her gun on him.

"Now, now Dearka. Let's not start a fight so early in the morning." Yzak said as he was the final one to join the gang. He came and stepped up to everyone and stood directly in front of Hiroku but about five or so feet back. He thought that he saw her blush when he kept looking at her while he walked up but it was quickly replaced with anger.

"You can shut the fk up too Yzak! I'm sick and tired of you two constantly mocking me or any of the other shit that you do!" she once again pointed her gun at Yzak. His eyes widened only at the fact that she sounded harsher than normal and clearly she was pissed to no end.

Damn. I wonder if she still mad about this morning? Now you've done it! Good luck with your future with her now! I have?...Uh…yea! I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't just completely ignore you for a while. She wouldn't…would she? For how mad she is, I don't think that she would just get over it like that. Oh man. I have screwed up big time, haven't I? Sure have! Dammit!

"Little missy, you know we are just joking around with you." Dearka said.

"Bullshit my ass Dearka! Your little 'joke' is getting pretty damn old!" she said in a low voice. She pointed her gun now at Dearka.

"Hiroku…" Yzak said softly.

"Don't…talk to me." She said in that low voice again glaring at Yzak and pointing her gun back at him.

Everyone was clearly shocked at her anger, especially Yzak. He liked her and if she was mad at him for how stupid Dearka was then he would never get the chance to tell her that.

Damn you Dearka! I seriously need to control myself around her. But then what would the others think if they saw me being all soft and shit around them? Then just be soft and caring around her when your alone. Yea that could work. And maybe when she has been with us longer I can be nice around her with everyone since it would just seem like we were becoming friends finally and not always fighting around everyone. Or maybe more than friends…? Ummm I don't know…maybe…

Up next is chapter 5! So go ahead and press the button to go on to the next chapter!