A/N: I am so glad that people reviewed... For a while there, I thought I wouldn't have any reviews because of the not-so-spectacular prologue. Haha. Thanks to the reviewers! I owe you guys a lot! And now, presenting, Chapter One of To Betray Who I Am!

To Betray Who I Am

Chapter One: To Cross Paths

"Counselor Birkrich was found dead in his house earlier this morning..."

Heero Yuy turned off the television and turned to his teammates. This had been the third death in two months, and still they weren't able to find traces of the killer. All they knew were these three things: one, someone was out to bring down the government; two: whoever that someone was either hired the perfect assassin or was the perfect assassin himself; and three: their assassin was definitely moving up the scales, and it wouldn't be long before he found his way to the Vice Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian.

"This is ridiculous, Heero! I can't believe we still haven't found anything about this killer!" Marie Welsh, recently-inducted leader of Assassin Cross, got to her feet and paced around the AC headquarters. She was infuriated all right, but not at her teammates. She was infuriated with herself, for being so slow when it came to solving this one thing that was so important. 'I could really use some advice right now... Damn it! If Violet were here, what would she have done? Come on, Marie, think!'

"Calm down, Marie. We're already doing the best we can. It just so happens that whoever is killing these officials is excellent at the job," said Trowa Barton as he scanned the notes they had taken for the past two months. To be honest, he himself was getting impatient with not being able to do anything, but he muffled any thought of voicing it out. It wasn't what they needed, especially at this moment; he knew that they had best calm down if they wanted to solve anything.

"Trowa's right. Jazmine, run the videotape in Birkrich's room."

Jazmine nodded and followed Heero's orders. The team watched as a conversation between Counselor Birkrich and his adviser, Maria Hampton, transpired. Counselor Birkrich then held up his hand, signaling that the conversation was over, and entered his room. He grabbed the newspaper on his desk and read it for two minutes, before he fell to the floor, dead.

"He was shot with a specialized sniper; we know this by the way the glass didn't shatter when the bullet went past it. This same bullet was found in the other two assassinations--Landein and Kariam--and they were all killed by one shot in the head. Clearly we have a pattern, but I'm afraid that is all we have." Marie got the remote for the screen and began to run through the pictures, hoping that maybe they would see something they weren't able to see before.

"We're missing something. I just know it," came Carina's voice, and everybody couldn't help but agree just how seemingly right she was.

"There's got to be something... He must've made a mistake somewhere--"

"Marie, stop." Marie stopped changing the pictures and turned to Heero. "We know the angle from where he was shot... I want you to adjust the picture so we're looking through the window and directly at the assassin's location." Although confused, Marie did what she was told and adjusted the angles of the picture. They were now faced with the top of the building opposite Counselor Birkrich's room.

"Is it me, or am I actually seeing something?" Duo squinted his eyes to check if there really was an image on the window glass, and he was right. There was an image on the window glass--more of a reflection, actually. It wasn't too clear, but he could make out a figure with long, raven hair, and a sniper situated over the edge of the building.

"I see it," confirmed Quatre.

"Hn. Marie, contact Wufei and Brittany. Tell them to come back to the base. We have a lead."

(skip)

"Um, Heero?"

"Hn."

"I'll show you something. Come."

Heero looked at Violet for a while and then slightly nodded, signaling her to go. Violet smiled and led Heero to the soccer field.

"Tonight, I remember, there are supposed to be shooting stars. We hardly ever get them on Earth—I'm sure you have seen a lot but never took the time to actually just relax and gaze at them, right?"

Violet sat down on the grass and waited. Heero stood his ground, but continued to look up. Violet was right; he never took the time to actually watch. Then it began. With a slow pace, shooting stars began appearing. Eventually, it showered like rain, bringing Violet to wonderland.

"Heero, make a wish." Violet said.

"What?"

"Make a wish. It'll come true." Violet closed her eyes and silently made a wish. Heero looked at her in pure amazement. This girl still believed in such myths? He quickly turned away when her hazel eyes opened. Violet stood up and smoothened her long skirt. She placed a hand on Heero's shoulder, causing him to turn to her.

"Heero, don't push your friends away. They're here for you to lean on, so make yourself comfortable."

"Heero, we've listed all the potential enemies of the Earth Sphere Unified Nations."

Heero Yuy shook his head free of all the disturbances and turned to Marie. He got the folder she was handing out to him. "We only know four people who are capable of performing these terrorist attacks," said Marie as Heero scanned the papers, "the standards being credibility, circumstances, and opportunity. We're sure these four are our only potential suspects."

'Andres Harrison, Yael Mariant, Levian Tolio, Christian Anderson... Christian Anderson, the young millionaire...' The brunet looked over his profile, feeling as though there was something about this guy that he could not quite place his finger on. Usually, his inklings led him to the correct person, but at this point, they had to be careful. They couldn't afford making a mistake in pointing out the suspect, unless they wanted their association to be uncovered and revealed for everybody in the world to know.

"We'll continue this tomorrow. We rest for now," announced Heero once he finished reading Christian Anderson's profile. He would think about him overnight, he thought. Besides, he knew that the team needed a rest. Duo was already about to fall asleep, and Jazmine and the rest of the girls had to blink several times just to shrug off their sleepiness.

"Okay. Guys, let's all go and rest. We'll do this tomorrow." Marie echoed Heero's orders, and audible sighs echoed in the room.

"All right," came the simultaneous reply. Computers were shut down, lights were turned off, and everyone moved out of the base. Heero was the last to move out of the base, since he had to make sure that the security system was functioning well. It had been his responsibility ever since Violet died.

Violet's death. It was such a painful memory for him. He never got over it, the whole idea of him falling in love for the first time and then losing that love to death. He always kept this anger within him--anger towards himself for not being able to save her, anger towards Yu for even drawing out Violet, anger towards the world for being so unfair. Yes, unfair. Ever since Violet's death, he had seen the world in a different light. He no longer disregarded people's comments about the world being an unfair place to live in; he himself knew how unfair the world was, for he himself experienced its ruthlessness and cruelty.

But he wouldn't admit it. No, not Heero. Although the pain was overwhelming, he had managed to somehow be numb to all of it. Like he used to, he put up a mask of stoniness and steel, laced his voice with ice, and acted as though nothing had and nothing could affect him. It was as though he had reverted to his old habits as a perfect soldier; only this time, there was true pain within him, and that was the cause for the ice to rise up once more.

Upon reaching his room, Heero glanced at the photograph on his study table that had always caught his attention whenever he came in. That photograph was of Violet, standing amidst the shower of red, golden and orange leaves, laughing and throwing her hands up to the heavens. If there were one picture he thought he had taken excellently--this would've been it. She looked so beautiful, so free, so graceful in that picture. That was the one picture which he treasured with his life.

"Hey, Heero?"

"What is it Duo?" Heero knew Duo had followed him to his room; he only didn't want to acknowledge his presence till they arrived at his room.

"Nothing, ol' bud. Just checking on ya..." The braided brunet stepped forward so he could see what Heero was staring at. 'Violet's picture... So I was right. Heero still isn't over her. The poor dude... He loved for the first time and broke his heart so badly too... It'd do the guy good to talk about it.'

"She's beautiful in that picture, isn't she? I've never seen her so carefree."

"Hn."

Duo rolled his eyes. There went the 'hn' again. This old habit of his had returned after Violet's death, and he hated it. "Look, Heero, ol' buddy, I know her death's really hard to accept, but that doesn't mean you should revert to the ol' 'hn-ing' guy you once were. I mean, Violet changed you for the better, and I bet she would've wanted you to stay that way, even after her death."

Duo looked at Heero for any response, but when he said nothing, Duo sighed. "Maybe I'm not giving you the best pep talk, but hey. I'm your buddy Heero, and I know you inside out. I know you're suffering, deep down inside, and you're trying to freeze yourself up again so that the pain'll disappear. But that ain't the best thing to do, Heero, because what you're actually doing is running away from everything that Violet has taught you--or made you into, for that matter, since she changed you from the perfect soldier you were to the human you are now... Do you really want to do that to her?"

'No,' answered Heero mentally. He never really thought about that, about disgracing Violet's efforts. It never crossed his mind. If he had known it could be that way, if he had seen it in that angle, he probably never would've closed himself up. He probably never would've reverted to his old self. He had never wanted to disgrace Violet's image—and he never planned to.

"I thought so." Duo smiled and patted Heero on the back. Heero stared at him--did he just say all his thoughts out loud? "You don't have to say the answer to let me know, bud. I know how much you love Violet, and I know you wouldn't want to disgrace her in any way. Now, come on. The others are going down to Hansel's to get a well-deserved drink."

"Hn."

"Heero,"

"Hn."

"Heero,"

"Fine. Just so you'll stop."

"Good," said a grinning Duo. He knew he'd get to Heero somehow, somewhere. After all, he was still his best bud.

(skip)

"I don't see the need for this."

"It's called a break, Eve. A break."

The raven-haired female rolled her eyes, muttering curses against her boss under her breath. Really, she didn't see the need to come to the bar tonight. Sure, she had performed well in her past three missions, but that didn't mean she wanted to celebrate her excellent performances. Perhaps the other assassins who had lower statuses than her would appreciate it—but she didn't. She saw it was a waste of time.

So why the hell was she complying with her boss' orders?

"Eve? You are on your way, right?"

"I'm across the street." Eve glanced at the dimly-lit tavern, and upon seeing that it was filled with people, immediately felt repulsed. Yes, she disliked people. She hated having to mingle, having to talk, or having to be in the same room with them. Why? Because when she was with these strangers, she had to be polite. She had to be nice. And she hated being those two things. She just wanted to be herself; she just wanted to not give a damn about the world and the people in it.

"Wait there. I'll come out to get you."

"Christian, I'm not going in—"

"Oh yes you are."

"No. I'm leaving right now—"

"No you aren't. Gotcha."

A pair of arms wrapped around Eve, causing her to stiffen. Damn it, she hated it when her boss toyed around with her. She wasn't his girlfriend; how dare he touch her that way? Angered—at the same time feeling very impatient and temperamental—she tore away from the embrace and pushed her boss backwards.

"I told you not to touch me," she said through gritted teeth.

"I can't resist. It is you after all, and you know I can't resist you, Eve."

She glared at him, and Christian Anderson couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips when he caught the look. Oh, how he loved his precious little assassin. Eve was so unique, so special. Unlike his other agents who had flaws and shortcomings, and were easily swayed by his good looks, money and power, Eve was cold, calculating, and she absolutely hated to be pampered. She hated to be touched, most especially. But what really set Eve aside from the others was one simple fact…

She'd never bow down to him.

And instead of finding that threatening, he actually found it amusing.

(A/N: Yes. That's how twisted Christian Anderson is.)

"Come on. I reserved a private room. I know you hate people."

Not bothering to wait for a response, Christian took Eve's hand and together, they began crossing the street.

Meanwhile, at the bar, a group of teens were making their way out. After having had a few drinks, they had decided that they couldn't linger, because they still had work waiting for them the next day. Also, what pushed them to leave was the fact that one of their companions—specifically a braided brunet named Duo Maxwell—had drunk one too many glasses of tequila, and seriously needed to get home before he threw up all over the place.

"Jazmine, get him into the back seat. I'll drive."

The raven-haired girl assisting the drunken brunet nodded. "Thanks, Heero."

"We'll meet you at the dorms then—ow!"

Because Quatre wasn't looking ahead, he was unaware that he was already about to bump into someone. He staggered, falling back a few steps, and almost lost his balance, but thankfully, Trowa was there to steady him before he could really fall.

"S-Sorry. I wasn't looking." The blond apologized.

"It's okay. I wasn't looking either. Sorry."

Heero, who had been busy with Duo then, turned when he heard that voice. There was no mistake: that voice had to belong to Christian Anderson. He whirled around to confirm his assumption, and found out that he was correct. It was indeed the young millionaire that they had bumped into. And who was that female with him? She looked terribly familiar, like he had seen her on television before, or…

Suddenly, Heero's eyes widened.

'Violet…'

Eve, who had been quiet all the time, suddenly felt the urge to turn and look behind her. She had this feeling that someone had just called her, and yet the logical part of her brain told her that no one had actually spoken her name. But what was this nagging feeling? What was this underlying voice in her head that was telling her to turn and take a look?

"I'm really sorry. Please excuse us." With a polite nod, Christian excused himself and proceeded to the entrance with Eve right behind him.

'Damn it. What is this?'

Still feeling unsettled, Eve forced herself to look over her shoulder—and that was when she saw him; his muscled form, his chocolate brown hair, and his cold, sharp, Prussian blue eyes. For a while, she felt the whole world freeze; she could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, except… his presence, his gaze that was also sweeping her figure as she looked at him.

'This… What… Damn it, I'm getting distracted.'

Quickly, Eve snapped out of her daze and without so much as a second look, stepped into the bar with Christian. A thousand of questions were swarming in her mind, and she had every urge to find answers to each—but she had effectively thwarted all those desires by convincing herself that what happened was nothing but a malfunction, a glitch in her system that caused her to look at that stranger differently.

Yes, she thought emotionlessly, that had to be it.

Heero on the other hand, wasn't too sure.

(end)

A/N: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'm finally done with Chapter One! Sorry for taking forever! Please forgive me! I'll do my best to do a regular update from now on! Please R&R!

Heero: You've been negligent. Who do you expect will still read this?

Me: (sniffs) You're mean. It's okay to hope, you know!

Heero: Stupid.