"We are now docking. Please buckle your seatbelts, make sure your terminal is off, and place your trays in the upright position. Thank you for flying Colonial Space Transport and we hope you enjoy your stay on L-4."

          The boy stared out the window. The boy stared out the window. There was a slight jolt as the wheels of the shuttle hit the runway. The stars were slowly replaced by metal wall as the shuttle slid into the docking bay. The shuttle rolled a few feet more, then stopped. Odin, who hadn't even buckled his seatbelt, stood and stretched.

          "Ugh. I always hate these all night flights."

          "We could have taken the express shuttle," the boy said, standing. Odin reached up and started to take their things from the overhead compartment.

          "Can't afford an express," Odin said, putting the boy's small suitcase on the chair. The boy opened it and took out the teddy bear. Then he snapped the suitcase shut and grinned at the blond man.

          "You just don't like the express shuttle because you get space sick."

          "Don't even start on that, kid… er... John."

          The boy giggled. Odin was funny when he got space sick. His face went all white and he held onto the seat like he was afraid it would run away from him. The boy hugged the teddy bear in one arm and picked up the suitcase. Then followed Odin. As they started to leave the shuttle, the stewardess smiled at him.

          "Well hello little man! Did you enjoy the flight?" she asked. The boy nodded, hiding his face a little behind the teddy bear, pretending to be shy. Hopefully she wouldn't. They almost always did, but hopefully she wouldn't.

          "Aww. Shy are you? Well for being such a brave boy, I've got a treat for you," she said, reaching into the pocket on her dress. The boy tried not to sigh as she pinned a silver shuttle onto his shirt. The boy started to leave but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

          "What do you say, son?" Odin said with a broad smile. He was laughing at him. That wasn't very nice.

          "Thank you," the boy muttered. As they stepped from the airlock into the main terminal, Odin really did laugh.

          "You really hate that don't you?" the man asked.  The boy nodded.

          "I hate being treated like a little kid."

          "You are a little kid. You're only six. Six…with the mind of a twelve-year-old."

          "Better then being fifty with the mind of a six-year-old."

          "For one thing, I'm only forty-seven-"

          "That's really old Daddy," the boy said as he spotted the security gate. Odin straightened and put a hand on his shoulder.

          "ID please," the bored looking security man said. Odin gave it to him. The security guard looked at it and his eyebrows raised.

          "Part of the Archeological Research Foundation huh? My wife loves old stuff like that."
          "So do I," Odin said, patting the case which the rifle was in. "That's why I need to ask you a favor." The security man suddenly looked uncomfortable.

          "I'm…sorry, sir. I can't do favors…"

          "This is a very old artifact, if I bring it through the scanner, it'll destroy it. This is a priceless piece of history."  The security man cleared his throat and looked from side to side. Finally he nodded.

          "All…all right. You just go through and I'll hold onto this."

          "Just be sure not to open it," Odin said. "If it hits the air it will crumble."

          "Right."

          "Hold my teddy too! He doesn't like scanners," the boy said, holding the bear up.

          "All right all right. Just go through. Hurry up."

          A few seconds later, they were walking free of the security gate. The boy kept quiet as they went through the terminal. Men with guns were standing here and there, and he was sure there were hidden ones as well. With the war going on, the colonies were being very careful. But obviously not careful enough if they allowed security men like that.      

          They stepped outside and were met with a sunny sky. The main colony of L-4 rose up around them. Cars and busses hummed along busy streets. The sidewalk was full of people.

          "Better keep a close eye on me, kid. You could get lost for days on this colony if you don't know where you're going."

          The boy did as he was told. He almost lost Odin twice in the enormous crowd and was glad when they finally reached the hotel. It was strange that they were in a hotel. Usually, Odin rented an apartment on the dark side of town. An even stranger fact was that the boy hadn't been told about their assignment yet. Usually Odin told him right away, but he seemed to be avoiding it for some reason.

          The inside of the hotel looked like a lot of money. Leather chairs sat in circles on a fuzzy red carpet. Pretty rugs with lots of designs hung on the walls. High above a pretty light hung with crystals swung a little.

          Odin went up to the high front desk and leaned against it. The boy hung back a little, looking around and keeping an ear on what Odin was saying.

          "Do you have a reservation, sir?" said a male voice in a snooty tone.

          "Yes. My name is Odin Lowe."

          The boy stared at Odin's back, eyes wide. He…he used his own name. He'd never used his own name before! Not even for the shuttle.

          "Ahhh yes. Well it seems everything is in order, sir. Your room number is 569A. The bellhop will show you where it is."
          "It does have a computer in there doesn't it?"

          "Yes sir. The computer has an A4 class processor and intercolony linkup."

          "Not interspace?"

          "No sir. All service has been restricted to intercolony."

          "That's fine. Comon', kid."

          The boy was silent as they followed the bellhop. There were so many things he wanted to ask. But he knew enough to keep quiet until the right moment. As soon as the bellhop closed the door, the boy turned to Odin.

          "What's going on?"

          The man looked at him a long moment, then sighed, dropped his suitcases, and flopped on the bed.

          "Ah shut up, kid. You know I have to rest after long space trips."

          The boy frowned. He wanted to know now. But Odin would only get grouchy if he pressed further. Odin was watching him, a thoughtful look on his face. The boy dropped his own little suitcase and tossed the teddy bear onto the bed. Odin yelped and rolled out of the bed, falling with a thud on the floor. The boy blinked. When Odin got to his feet, stomped over to the boy and roughly grabbed his arm.

          "Are you out of your mind?! Don't throw that thing!" he snapped.

          "Why not?"
          "Because there's a gun in there." Odin said through his teeth in a low voice. "If that goes off we're gonna have hotel security up here faster then you can blink."
          "Oh…sorry. I forgot."
          "I forgot," Odin said, letting him go. "You haven't even started your mission yet and all ready you 'forget'."

          "My mission?"
          "Yeah kid, your mission. Come here," Odin said, going to sit at the computer. The boy stared at him. His mission? A mission to do all by himself? A part of him was a little scared…but another part was excited. He went to sit beside Odin who had turned on the computer. There was a picture of stars in a brown frame and below it the words: Microsoft Windows Colony Edition. Then the computer went to another screen with all sorts of little pictures and a gray bar at the bottom.

          "Keep a close eye on what I do, kid. You're gonna have to learn how to get around this thing."

          The boy nodded. Too fascinated to look away. A little arrow appeared and pointed to a small picture which had the letters ICL.

          "Clicking on this will get you into the Intercolony Linkup. You'll have access to all sorts of personal sites and information in the L-4 colony cluster."

          "Does Interspace Linkup get you access to all of the colonies?"

          "Yes. But with the threat of the Alliance they don't want any information to accidentally leak out. Of course there is a way you can get information from anything…but I'm not a hacker so I wouldn't know." There was a click and a new screen popped up. Odin clicked some buttons. There was a slight pause, then a picture of a man showed up. He was old. Older then Odin. His eyes were a dark, dark blue. The boy suddenly noticed Odin was watching him again. As if he was waiting for him to say something. The boy read the name under the picture.

          "Ak…em…i T…To…dai," the boy said, carefully sounding out the letters. "Is that right?" he asked, looking at Odin. The man nodded.

          "Yeah."

          "Is he my target?" the boy said, looking back at the picture. His heart sank a little. He didn't want Akemi Todai to be his target. He had such a kind face.

          "Yes…and no. The deal is they think he's giving information to the Alliance…but they can't prove anything. He's really trusted in the Winner family so they won't investigate him. On top of that, they discourage any other investigations saying it's an insult to them. There aren't many people in the colonies who want to insult the Winner's."

          "So my job is to find proof."
          "Or lack of it."

          The boy frowned. He didn't know how to do that. Odin never taught him anything about that.

          "How?" the boy asked.

          "Looking in his computer, searching through his files. I'll give you some bugs to set around the house."
          "Bugs?" the boy repeated, cocking his head. How would a bug help? "Is Akemi Todai afraid of bugs?" he asked. Odin chuckled.

          "I'll show you, kid."   

          "How am I supposed to infiltrate his house?"

          "Infiltrate?" Odin whistled. "Kid, if you use big words like that you're not going to be able to infiltrate anything. Remember, you're six. Act like it."
          The boy nodded. That meant he would have to act little and dumb. He could do it if he had to. If he did this mission right all on his own, Odin would really be proud of him.

          "Anyway," Odin continued. "Todai is pretty rich and he doesn't have an heir.  Rumor has it that he's looking around at the orphanages."

---

          It was night. He stared at the orphanage through a big iron gate. The tall, dark windows seemed to watch him. The boy clutched the handle of his little suitcase and held the bear closer to him. He slowly glanced at Odin. The man was leaning against the rented car, arms folded.

          "How long will I be here?" the boy asked. Odin shrugged.

          "I don't know. I'll start spreading some rumors…but…" he shrugged again. "I don't think any longer then a month or so." The boy looked back at the building. A whole month? He'd never been away from Odin more then a day before. His heart began to beat a little faster and something lumped in his throat. Was…was this what fear felt like?

          "What should I do?"

          "Well, when they find you in the morning, make up some kind of sob story about how I left you here. Don't use my name. After that, just lie low. Familiarize yourself with the computer. Try to act like a kid. I'll keep you posted."

          "Okay," he said, wondering why his voice was shaking.   

          "Anything else you want to ask me before I go?"

          "Will you miss me?" the words spilled from his mouth before he thought them. His heart wanted to know. It was a stupid question. Of course he would. Odin was a grownup. Grownups were supposed to miss kids when they went away. The man laughed.

          "Miss you? Hell no. After three years of lugging you around, having a kid free month is going to be heaven. Don't tell me you're going to miss me?"

          "No," the boy said. Yes, his heart said. He kept forgetting that Odin wasn't a regular grownup.

          "Oh yeah, your probably not going to anyway, but don't look up any more information on Todai. Trust me, kid, it would be really better for you not to know."

          "Okay," the boy said softly. The car door shut and the engine started. The boy watched it leave out of the corner of his eye. Come back! His heart called. Come back! Don't leave me here! Don't you love me? The boy clenched his hand into a fist.

          "This is my mission," he murmured to himself. "I have to do this." He sat on the cold sidewalk, leaning his back against the fence. Maybe…maybe if he did the mission Odin would love him then. The boy looked at the stars. They weren't the real stars. Odin said it was just an illusion to make people feel happy. He didn't care if they weren't real. Anything that made people happy, real or not, was good.

          The boy curled up on the sidewalk, resting his head on the suitcase and hugging the bear close to him. Then he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

          A light touch on his shoulder woke him up. The boy shot up and looked around, heart pounding. He was…outside. Oh… right. He glanced at the person who had touched him. The first thought that struck him was that she was pretty. Her hair was bright yellow, like the sun and pulled into a high ponytail. She had a smiling pink mouth and sparkling sky blue eyes.

          "Hello little boy," she said in a soft, kind, tone. The boy immediately trusted her. "What are you doing out here?"

          "O…The person I was with told me I had to stay here. He said he didn't want me around any more," he said, looking hard at her face and hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions. The woman's blue eyes narrowed and for a moment she seemed angry. As soon as it had come, the anger was gone and she was staring at him like she was sad. Sad for him. Her face soon changed again and she was smiling. It was like the sun coming out of the clouds.

          "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you," she said, standing. He stood as well, remembering to keep a close hold on the teddy bear.

          "My name is Celia Winner," she said, holding out her hand. The boy looked at it. She had a white hand. He didn't want to touch her white hand. He might get it dirty. She was looking at him like she expected an answer.

          "Hello," he said, absently wiping his free hand on his shorts. The smile never left her face.

          "Well let's get you inside shall we?" she said, picking up his suitcase. He followed her inside. He followed her down two halls and up a flight of stairs, trying to remember the layout of the building. He didn't think he'd have to know it, but Odin always said to find your escape routes just in case. The woman led him to a door marked 'Office' and pushed it open, gesturing for him to go first. The office was small. There were two bookshelves on either side of a small window. In the middle of the room was a low table, piled high with papers with a gray box thing in the center. The table was ringed with big, colorful cushions. What he liked best about the room, though, was all the pictures. They were pictures drawn by kids. None of them were really good. But just the thought that she found them important enough to hang them made him feel warm inside.    

          "First things first," Celia said, sitting beside the table. "We have to get you registered." She smiled at him and patted a cushion beside her. He obediently sat, crossing his legs. She opened the gray box thing and the boy was surprised to find it was a kind of computer.

          "All righty. Now…what's-" From somewhere under the papers, a phone rang. Celia sighed. "One minute."

          She moved a pile of papers to the side, picked up the phone and immediately started talking about adult things. The boy looked away, glancing at the pictures. A lot of them had a woman figure with yellow hair. The boy smiled a little. She must be really nice that so many kids loved her. A picture with a big red heart on it caught his eye. Below the heart, written in green, was the name 'John Smith'. Uh…oh…

          "Okay. Sorry about that," Celia said. "Now, what's your name?"

          The boy's heart started beating faster. Oh no. What was he supposed to do?! Could he use the same one? Odin had never assigned him any other name then that.

          "John Smith," he said softly, looking at the table top. Please work, he thought. Please. Please. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Celia frown.

          "Did you get that from the picture?"
          "N…no," the boy said. His voice was shaking again. His heart felt like it was going to escape out his throat. What was happening to him? She placed her hand lightly over his. The boy stared. Her hand…her hand was so warm.

          "You don't have to lie. You're safe here. What's your name?"

          What could he use? What could he use?

          "O…Odin Lo-" he cut himself off. No! Odin had told him not to use that name. He hugged the teddy bear without thinking about it and realized his hands were shaking.

          "Are you still lying?" Celia asked. He nodded quickly. What could he tell her? He didn't have a name! All normal people have names, a small voice inside him said. She won't like you if you're not normal. She won't like you if you don't have a name. She'll kick you out and you'll fail your mission and Odin will be mad.  The boy didn't realize he was crying until the woman brushed her hand against his face. He looked into her pretty sky blue eyes.

          "It's all right," she said. "It's okay. Don't be afraid."

          "I…I don't have a name," he whimpered.

          "Don't you remember what your Mommy and Daddy called you?" she asked. He looked down and shrugged.

          "I don't have a Mommy or Daddy."

          "What about the person that left you here? What did he call you?"

          "Odin calls me kid." The boy clapped a hand over his mouth. Oh noooo! He'd used Odin's name again! Odin was going to be sooo maaaad. Her eyes narrowed and she gently took his hand and pushed up his sleeve.

          "Did Odin do this to you?" she asked. He looked at the purplish marks on his skin and blinked. That was where Odin had grabbed him.

          "Yes," he said, pulling his hand away. "But that's okay because I threw the teddy bear."

          "I see," Celia said. She sounded angry…but it didn't seem to be at him. He looked down at his feet. Odin wasn't going to be proud of him even if he did complete this mission. He was a bad boy. A bad, bad boy.

          "Well don't worry. We can fix you up with a nice name. Look up at me please," Celia said. The boy obeyed. She put a hand on her chin and leaned a little closer.

          "Hmmm," she said, tilting her head all the way to one side. "Hmmm." She tilted her head all the way to the other side. The boy smiled. She was a funny grownup.

          "You have a kind of Asian look to you," she said. "So let's try something Asian. Hmm. Ah!" She snapped her fingers. "What about Heero Yuy? Would you like that?"  The boy wrinkled his nose.

"That's a funny name."

"Yes it is. But it's the name of a great man. He was pacifist and was the leader of allll of the colonies."

"What's a…packyfist?" he asked. She laughed.

"Pacifist. A pacifist is someone that hates violence."

"Violence is like shooting people, right?"

"Mm-hm."     

          The boy shook his head. He didn't like shooting people either but… But he couldn't take the name of someone who didn't like it. It wouldn't be right. Besides, she had said that Heero Yuy was a great man. The boy wasn't a great anything. He was a bad person. Bad people couldn't be great.

          "I don't want that name."

          "Why not?"

          "It sounds funny," the boy muttered, looking at his shoes.

          "All right. Let's see. There are a few good name sites on the Linkup. Let's see if we can find something that suits you." He watched her go through the sites. He really liked doing it when Odin taught him. He hoped they would let him do it here.

          "What abouuut….Hikari?" she said.

          "Hikari?" the boy repeated. That name…there was something familiar about it…like seeing Odin's face after a long time.

          "Hikari means light. Would you like that one?" she asked.

          "Yeah!" the boy said. He wasn't too heavy, so that should be a good name for him. Besides, he liked the way it sounded.

          "All right Hikari." She brought up another window. It had words then blank boxes to type something in. "Hikari," she said as she typed. "No middle name." She hit the tab key and typed 'Winner' in the box labeled last name. The boy blinked.

          "Winner?"

          "Mm-hm. Even if you don't have a Mommy or Daddy, being on L-4 means you're a part of the Winner family."

          "Your last name is Winner too?"

          "Yep."

          "Do you have a Mommy or Daddy?"

          "I do… And I have twenty-eight sisters," she said, raising her eyebrows. The boy nodded. She laughed unexpectedly.

          "What?" he asked.

          "I was at least expecting a 'wow' if nothing else."

          The boy shrugged. He wasn't sure what sisters were. Odin said that nones were called sisters but that didn't make any sense.

          "All right, fine, don't be impressed," she said with a laugh. "Okay…now. You have brown hair…beautiful cobalt blue eyes and you're abouuut, eight, right?"

          "Six."

          "Wow really? You're really mature for your age."
          "Sorry," the boy said, not sure if mature was a good thing or not. She laughed and patted his hand. He smiled. She laughed a lot.

          "No, no. That's a good thing. My little brother is a lot like you in that way. He's only six too. Would you like to see a picture of him?"

          "Okay."

          Celia opened the picture from her computer. There was a little boy, laughing and hanging on to a man's arm. Celia was smiling at the picture. A smile that he could remember someone giving him a long time ago.

          "You love him don't you?" the boy asked. Celia nodded.

          "Very much. He's the baby of the family so it's hard not to love him. He's so friendly too, and bright…and sweet."

          "What's his name?"

          "Quatre. Quatre Raberba… Isn't that such a pretty combination?" She stared at the picture a bit longer, then sighed and clicked the computer closed.

"Anyway, let's get you situated Hikari. I'm sure you'll love it here."       

The boy looked into her blue eyes and smiled. With her here…he was sure he would love it.  
----

Notes: Hey. It COULD have happened. I don't see any evidence in the show that it DIDN'T. So NYAH.


Disclaimer: Do not own Gundam Wing. Do not own Ruroni Kenshin. Do not own Fushigi Yuugi. Do not even own Trigun. Wonder what my reason for living is.

Night~Mare