CHAPTER 5: GOMEN NASAI…

Takeda kissed Sally goodbye. He'd be off to Switzerland for a secret mission. Word has it those insurgents carrying nuclear warheads were heading towards the mountain borders. Those stolen nuclear warheads were to be installed that evening and were set to launch a few days. The heads were directed towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it was reported that a European war ship was headed for North America. The ship was from the Polish Preventers, a gift given when the North America Preventers helped during the Mariemeia Incident. If it wouldn't for North America, Poland would have collapsed.

When the warheads will be deployed, it will destroy a large area of the Atlantic Ocean, and damages will probably cover as far as Western Russia, Central China and Mongolia on the East, and California and Hawaii in the west.

"You take care, okay?" Sally said as she caressed her fiancé's face.

"I will. And I'll make sure that I'll get on time for our wedding day. I can't wait for the day that we'll be together, Sally."

"Please do come home then. I'll be waiting for you."

And Takeda left. Meanwhile, Wufei had overheard the sweet conversation. How many times had he called Sally Onna? He never even called her by her real name, not one single time. So Wufei decided to get out from his hiding place and pretended to cross the street. Sally saw him and called him.

"Hey, Chang Wufei! I haven't seen you around lately."

"Something came up and I needed to attend to it."

"You're still the same guy you were before, always attending to matters head-on. Well, why don't we talk for a bit? It's been such a long time we had a real chat," was Sally's invitation. Wufei felt like something was stuck in his throat. Earlier, Sally had just said goodbye to his fiancé. Now, she wanted to talk to him. He couldn't bear seeing her beautiful face again. And he was fighting back hot tears from falling.

"I…I wish I could stay…but…"

"What's with that 'but', Wufei? Why did you suddenly become so distant with me? We were former partners, right? Come on, let's chat for a while." And Sally got hold of Wufei's hands. Wufei was petrified. Those soft hands were still the same. She was leading him to the table where he and Duo were when they first arrived. They sat opposite each other. Wufei kept his head bowed. He noticed the ring on Sally's finger. It was an engagement ring, all right.

"How are you, Wufei? I'm sorry I hadn't responded to your emails. I just got tired of hanging in front of the computer after I got sick. Erm…it seems I'm the one who did all the talking, ne? How are you, really?"

"I'm fine…Onna"

There he goes again. He still called her by that name. But now, it meant nothing to Sally. She just put it as his term of endearment for her.

"Really? I don't see you are fine. By the way, how's Heero? Is he going out with Relena?"

Wufei nodded. Heero had courted Relena when he was already working as a Preventers agent, but that was before the Gundam pilots set forth for North America.

"And Duo? Ah, he told me yesterday that he's happy with his scrap business even when he's also working as an agent. He told me that he and Hilde are going steady too. Well, how about Trowa? How's Cathy? How's Quatre?"

"Cathy still worked in the circus. Trowa's already living with Quatre. They share a room in some condominium somewhere near the HQ. I heard it's ritzy, but I've never been there. Duo frequents the place, devouring whatever food he finds. Heero and Relena often visit there too. And Col. Lady Une's still herself, though. She never even bothered to go out anymore. She's so stuck in her office, being the head that she is. She's so busy lately. I know you wouldn't ask this, but Noin and Zechs are already married too. They had three broods living with them."

"Is that so? Wow! I'm glad Noin and Zechs decided to tie the knot. You know, I missed them all. I wish we could get together sometime, ne? Hey, tell me, have you got yourself a girlfriend now? Is she pretty? Can you introduce me to her?" she asked, quite excited. Wufei looked at her intently, and then shifted his gaze outside the window. His gaze seemed to convey defeat. He didn't even notice Sally's hands perched on his hands. Sally noticed the look in his eyes.

"Did…did I say something wrong…Wufei?"

"You knew that I was married when I was still 14. When my wife died, I never tried looking for someone to replace her…"

"Do you still love her?"

The Chinese pilot shook his head. "I only had the highest respects for her. I never loved her anyway. I was still a kid. I didn't know such things yet. And my heart was so consumed in war.

"Yet, when I became a man, I developed feelings for someone I had been longing to see. Someone told me that she liked me very much. She went away, and I didn't know why. When I found her at last, I was surprised that …she's about to get married to someone else…"

Sally removed her hands from Wufei's. "Wufei… you don't mean…?"

"Yes, I love you, Onna. I loved you back then, and I always did…"

Sally shook her head, closed her eyes and faked a laugh.

"This is wrong, Chang. You see that I'm engaged. Takeda and I will be married soon. You just can't say that straight to my face! What if he heard you? What will you do?"

"Forgive me, Onna, but this is what my heart tells me. I have sought for you for so long. Yet my search turned out to be futile…Onna, I love you more than you knew I would."

Sally swallowed hard. Hot tears were about to fall from her eyes. Grayish-blue orbs met his onyx orbs. They were also clouded with tears.

"Why did you say it now, Wufei?" Sally asked in a barely audible voice. "Why now?"

Wufei let streams of tears fall from his eyes. "Gomen nasai…Sally. I didn't have the courage to say it to you," was his silent answer.

"Gomen nasai, Wufei, but I can't love you back…not the way you wanted me to…not like the way I had loved you back then."

Wufei's eyes opened. So it indeed was true of what Heero said about Sally. He tried to catch her as she stood up and run towards the restroom. When he had only the wind to hold, he sighed.

"Sally, you should've told me you loved me too. And now it's too late…"

TO BE CONTINUED