Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, Amagami SS or any of its characters. I wrote this fanfic for my own pleasure and purely entertainment.
Chapter 03 - Bewildered Warrior
'What the hell happened?'
It was the first thought that came to Heero's mind when he regained consciousness. Opening both eyes, he slowly took in the sight that greeted him. The ceiling was painted powder blue, he looked around and noticed that the room was draped with white curtains. The bed was warm and soft, a clean white sheet covered the Gundam Pilot from chest down to his toes. A reading lamp stood guard above the small table situated at his left side. While to his right, an empty chair was leaning near the windows. It was late in the afternoon, the sun had already set and evening was approaching.
'This must be a hospital and if that's the case... The things that transpired after the Fold Generator Test was only a dream.' He deeply hoped, but felt something was not right.
'Quatre, must've brought me into one of...'
Heero was still attempting to recollect his thoughts when he heard a sliding door being opened and the soft clicking of footsteps moving towards his direction. His instinct was to immediately check the identity of the person who came in, but at the last moment decided against it and instead, closed his eyes once more and pretended to be sleeping.
The curtains rustled softly after being parted to one side as the person silently entered his small cubicle. The Gundam pilot heard a light scrunch as the visitor apparently sat on the empty chair at his right side.
"Hmmm... He's still sleeping, and the school infirmary is about to close in the next hour."
'That voice.'
"Is this yours" Somewhere in his mind echoed.
'I've heard that voice... It's quite familiar...' Heero's eyes fluttered slightly as he turned to look at the person.
His two cobalt blue orbs widened upon recognizing that it was none other than 'the girl' he saw through images while inside the Wing Gundam.
'It's her. That only means I'm still stuck in the past.'
Haruka noticed Heero's eyes open slowly before staring blankly at her. The raven haired beauty was unsure of what to say to him when he woke up, however, the Gundam Pilot beat her into starting the conversation.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the school's infirmary, I brought you here with some help after you..." Haruka trailed, while her cheeks started to turn a light shade of pink.
"After I?" Heero curiously asked, as the Gundam Pilot intended to know the reason he ended up inside the clinic.
'When you collapsed and fell on top of me!' Her mind screamed, however she was able to heave a sigh of relief upon realizing he did not remember anything after losing consciousness.
"Uhm... after you collapsed near the fountain." Haruka completed, her eyes still unable to look at him.
The brown haired pilot was wondering why the girl was averting her cerulean eyes from meeting his gaze, when she handed him a plastic bag.
"Here, please take this. Apparently, you've lost consciousness due to hunger and fatigue according to the nurse."
Heero moved and rested his back on the bed's headboard, he reached out for the plastic bag and nodded softly to her.
"Thanks. My name is Heero Yuy, class 2-A, I am grateful to you, miss..."
"Ohh, I'm Haruka Morishima, class 3-B, it's ok, don't worry." Haruka answered and smiled gently at Heero.
"I'm sorry though, I could only buy you some apples and instant food at a convenience store. The cafeteria is already closed and I have to come back here."
Realizing the trouble he caused her, the Gundam pilot felt a soft twinge inside him.
'She's kind and barely even knows me to go through all that. It would be rude to give this back.'
"Please don't apologize, the one who should be doing that is me, since I've caused all of this. Morishima sempai, I truly am in your debt."
"No no no! We should always help those in need. Besides you're a good person." Haruka reasoned, her eyes finally meeting his.
"Me? A good person?" Heero wondered, 'What did I do?'
"I saw you help your onee-chan inside the cafeteria during lunch break. Most onii-sans I know wouldn't bother to do that much for their younger siblings. Not to mention the fact you drove through that many students ordering at the counter." Haruka chuckled as she recounted Heero's encounter with Sae.
The Gundam pilot smiled very subtly as he remembered the earlier situation in the cafeteria.
"We're not siblings though, Morishima sempai. I just met her at the cafeteria since transferring today."
"Transfer? Hmmm... That explains everything! I've been thinking why I haven't seen you before. Though, I only realized you were that kind young man when they already placed you on this bed."
Heero was about to say something when they were interrupted by the electronic tune of school bells echoing across the building.
"Here I'll help you." Haruka offered as Heero was about to stand.
'She's friendly and compassionate, considering the fact she just met me.'
"Thank you Morishima sempai, but I'm alright now. It seems the campus is about to close."
"Yes, Kanae-sensei told me to just tell the security guard to lock the clinic once we leave."
Heero slid both feet in his campus shoes and nodded slightly to Haruka informing her that he's all set to go.
They had already left the school grounds and were now moving downhill towards the main intersection. Since leaving the infirmary, Heero had been mostly silent and would occasionally nod to Haruka as the lively girl made small talk with him while walking together. A few students that were also on their way home at the time looked discreetly at them, while Heero and Haruka walked casually with each other. This did not go unnoticed to the Gundam Pilot, at first he dismissed the idea that they were being watched. But seeing the curious looks on the faces of every student that they passed, caused him to glare in return with fierce intensity written in his eyes. The result was inevitable, no one dared looked back at them with open audacity.
"Is there something wrong Yuy-kun?"
"Morishima sempai, why does it seem that everyone else is staring at us?" He softly asked, keeping his eyes fixed to the direction they're heading.
Haruka turned her head instantly and caught two girls looking at them while seemingly talking to each another in hushed tones.
"Hmm... Well, probably because they're quite used to seeing me walking home with Hibiki."
She heard Heero grunt in acknowledgement before continuing, "Hibiki's a very good friend of mine, actually I was waiting for her by the fountain when you had that accident."
A small smile appeared on Haruka's lips as she remembered the reason how she met the young man walking beside her. She abruptly stopped and started rummaging for something inside her school bag. She pulled out the familiar business card from her bag's pocket and handed it over to Heero.
"I believe this is yours. I saw it lying by the fountain, it must be the reason why you approached me."
Heero's eyes slightly stirred upon seeing the contact card, after receiving it from Haruka, he bowed respectfully to the raven haired beauty before conveying his appreciation.
"Thank you sempai." Heero said, with only the faintest hint of a smile as his lips curled upwards ever so subtly.
Haruka nodded to him and they continued walking, they haven't gotten far when she recalled Heero mentioning that he was a transfer student.
"Yuy-kun, why did you transfer to Kibitou High at this time of the school year?"
"My parents. They went overseas for business reasons. I'd like to try being independent and convinced them I'll stay here instead of living with some relatives." Heero answered, without missing a heartbeat.
"Wow, you're already dependable at your age, to think I'm a year older than you."
"The circumstances were just favorable on my end, Morishima sempai." He replied, in an attempt to downplay his situation.
"By the way, if its not too much, can I ask for the directions to this address?" Heero took out the card from his uniform's chest pocket before giving it to Haruka.
"Hmmm... I'm sorry Yuy-kun, I'm not familiar with the locations around the business district since I rarely go there."
"It's all right. I'll probably ask one of my classmates tomorrow, it is already late in the afternoon. They'd be closed now for sure."
They have arrived at the main intersection, this was where they would go on separate directions, as Heero will have to turn right heading towards the countryside. While Haruka would be walking the opposite direction, a short distance to an exclusive village where her house was located.
"I think this is where we go separate ways." Haruka smiled at him before continuing, "Don't forget to eat that, ok? Get your strength back Yuy-kun."
The campus idol was referring to the plastic bag where some apples and a small packed meal that Heero was holding. The Gundam Pilot nodded in acknowledgement and spoke, "I am grateful, Morishima sempai. Be safe."
He bowed slightly to Haruka and went on his way.
'Truly, that boy is really different. But he is interesting, indeed.' Having thought of that, Haruka smiled while looking at Heero's slowly diminishing form as he moved further away from the main intersection.
The distance towards her village was roughly a ten minute walk from the main intersection, it was already dark, and afternoon had already passed though the evening was still young. The streets were illuminated by lights coming from lamp posts, it was a weekday though and the pathways were busy with people who were also rushing on their way home.
Haruka was still smiling to herself as she recollected the earlier events within her mind while walking leisurely amidst the rush of different persons converging from different directions. Her thoughts were filled with the boy and their peculiar meeting, sighing softly, the incident seemed to replay itself inside her head.
Haruka had already placed the boy's school bag underneath his head to cushion him while she went to look for help. Luckily for her, there were four members of the soccer club that happened to be nearby. All four guys were athletically built, however, they still had difficulty on carrying the brown-haired boy as she led them to the school clinic. After thanking them, she turned to look at the young man that lay peacefully on the bed beside her.
The boy was firmly built with well toned muscles that go well with his slender frame. She heard from one the soccer players who helped her a while ago, that the young man was quite heavy. Looking at his sleeping face, Haruka couldn't help but notice the locks of unruly brown hair that settled slightly above his eyes. Those eyes...
"Haruka, this boy is just over fatigued and obviously did not eat any food when he came in for school. Could you get him something? Here take this..." Kanae sensei, the school nurse said to her while handing a few bills.
"Oh, no need for that sensei, I'll take care of it." Haruka replied as she gently declined the nurse's extended hand.
"Well, if you insist, do you know this boy, Haruka?"
"No... I just saw him collapse while I was waiting for a friend by the fountain."
As she left the infirmary, Haruka took one last look at the sleeping boy when her memory reminded the young woman of the scene between the boy and the cute girl at the cafeteria during lunch time. He drove inside the throng of students ordering at the counter and came out with a paper bag containing food which he then gave to the petite young girl.
'He's a nice young man, probably a kind onii-san to his younger sister. I think he's a good person.' Haruka mused as she went on her way to a convenient store.
'But he's quite something, he forgot to neither buy food for himself nor eat during lunch period.'
Coming back to her senses, Haruka realized that she was only a block away from her house. The raven haired beauty had already passed the busy main road and the entrance to her village. Stars were already painted on the night sky, she could even feel the cool evening wind blowing softly around her. Finally, she stood in front of the gates to her home, before entering, the young woman took a moment to look up the skies and admire the moon which shone brightly above. Just then she was reminded of what the young boy said to her as he woke up inside the infirmary.
"We're not siblings though, Morishima sempai. I just met her at the cafeteria since transferring today."
Haruka couldn't help but smile at herself when she remembered how the Gundam Pilot spoke those words.
'Heero definitely is a good person.' she concluded while closing the gate.
Ultracompact Fusion Reactor charge level: 16%
The number was very unappealing, considering the fact that it had been twenty-four hours since he arrived at this timeline. Energy reactors created during the After Colony era were known for the benefits that automatically come along with the latest technology: high efficiency, maximized output, increased durability and of course less maintenance. When Operation Meteor was rolled out, Gundams were only to be deployed if the whole concept was satisfied and the above mentioned criteria were met. During the war, it was imperative to have all those features be incorporated to ensure their victory on every battle.
'Less maintenance', he muttered with sarcasm under his breathe.
The molecular combustion and nuclear fusion that conceptualized fusion reaction supposedly provided nigh unlimited energy to power the Gundams. Heero was able to discern that one of the probable reasons the scientists did not integrate the Fold Generator to their machines is the possibility of exhausting the Fusion Reactor charge. The amount of energy that was dispersed during the creation and voyage through the Spatial Transit Hole was apparently too much for the compact reactor to handle.
Maintenance of reactors ultimately falls under the care of the scientists since they know its working conditions down to the sub-atomic level. The Gundam pilots were familiar to the regular maintenance and emergency repairs on the mobile suits. They may know every mechanical component and computer related detail of their Gundams. But when it comes down to the technology behind Fusion Reactors, only Quatre amongst them might have some knowledge on how these miniature power plants operate.
"I'll observe and take logs for the moment. But at a rate of 1% per day, I could be stuck here for the next 3 months." Heero concluded.
He picked up and opened the packed meal that Haruka gave him earlier inside the school's infirmary. Heero began eating its contents and was glad that it was good enough to satisfy his hunger. The Gundam pilot was mentally displeased at himself for allowing such a situation to occur on him. But realizing that this era and his current location was relatively peaceful, he figured to blend more actively within the local population till he gets the opportunity to go back his own timeline.
As he ate, he remembered the compassion extended to him by the older girl. 'She is beautiful', he thought. He was grateful that such a kind person would still help a stranger such as himself. 'Lively personality, bright cerulean eyes and those smiling lips complete her pretty face.'
Heero had already finished the meal when his memory brought up something. He then glanced at Wing Gundam which was lying beside him, and looked particularly at the closed cockpit which housed the ZERO system.
'ZERO... I've met the girl from the images you've shown me while inside the spatial time hole.'
'I still don't understand, though... Why?'
Of course the program could not respond to him even if he was inside the console. The ZERO System would only supply him with data and options it deems as sufficient choices on any situation he is facing. As pilot, he was still left with the decision to choose from these options and guide the mobile suit to a definite outcome resulting from his actions. Now he was unsure why the program flashed all those images of Haruka inside his mind.
'Was it inevitable for us to meet? Or circumstances intended for this to happen?' he wondered.
Heero Yuy had a good night's rest the evening before, he woke up refreshed as he slept earlier compared to the previous night. As he went on his way to school, the Gundam pilot saw a familiar face from one of the girls that were walking a considerable distance ahead of him. It was Haruka Morishima and she was chatting with a friend, while on their way to school. He simply kept his pace and trudged discreetly behind Haruka and her companion. As they got near the campus, he noticed that most of the students that Haruka encountered along the way greeted and bowed respectfully to the beautiful young woman.
As he continued walking, the brown haired boy overheard the conversation of two girls who had earlier greeted Haruka.
"Morishima sempai is truly amazing, she's beautiful, kind and quite charismatic. Definitely, the reason she's the school idol!" The girl with long braided hair gushed to another girl who had pig-tails on her hair.
"Yes she is... and no one could ever capture her heart, I've heard that a lot of boys from the second and third years have already confessed to her. No one's ever succeeded." The girl with pig-tails replied, obviously mesmerized at the fact.
"Do you think she... You know, she's always with Tsukahara sempai... Like right now, look at them." The long braided haired girl asked.
"Come on, I've also heard that there were a few girls who confessed to her, but Morishima sempai flatly told them she doesn't bend that way."
"That figures, they seem to be best friends even before Senior High right?"
"Yep, and even now they're still very much inseparable. Oh, wait... Do you have the assignment for History?" The girl with pig-tailed hair suddenly remembered, looking worriedly at her friend.
"Oh shoot... I forgot to do mine as well, better hurry, we still have about 30 minutes to copy from someone in the class."
Heero shook his head in disbelief as the two girls who were gossiping about Haruka suddenly broke into a run towards the First Year's building.
The homeroom was half-filled when Heero entered, he was greeted with a mixture of cheers and approval from his classmates. Not sure on how to react, the Gundam Pilot simply looked at his fellow students and uttered 'good morning', before quietly moving to his seat.
'What was that all about?' he wondered.
No sooner had the thought dissipated when he was approached by two boys and a girl. Heero didn't recognize them amongst those who were persistent in getting to know him yesterday. The first boy had a short bowl shaped haircut while the second one had cropped spiked hair, both were almost of equal height. Lastly, the lone girl sported black wavy hair that fell a few inches above her shoulder, she had a tomboyish look with eyes that seem to glisten in excitement and lips that smiled with reckless fervor. For a minute he assumed these three would be no different from the other students that he met the day before. They would probably ask him a lot of questions or pry into his background and attempt to befriend him. He was a bit surprised though on how the boy with short spiky hair opened the conversation.
"Never knew you had it in you, Yuy-san!"
'What did I do?'
"Don't be so modest, the class knows about it!" The spiky haired boy added.
"Huh?" Heero groaned, his eyes looking dangerously at the three.
"You know... A reliable source told everyone here that yesterday you were seen going out of the campus with Morishima sempai!"
Heero's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the statement. This was noticed by the other boy looking worriedly between them.
"Masayoshi, calm down, Yuy-san might not take it well." The boy with bowl cut hair said, "Please excuse him, Yuy-san, he tends to exaggerate at times."
The Gundam pilot studied both boys in front of him and decided to shutdown the meaningless banter when the girl moved forward.
"You two are really rude, both of you are asking him questions without even introducing yourselves first!" The girl with short wavy hair chastised her friends before facing to him. Both boys dropped their head in shame as if scolded roughly by an elder sister.
"I'm sorry for their behavior, by the way, I'm Kaoru Tanamachi. The wild boy over there is Masayoshi Umehara while this idiot here is Junichi Tachibana. Hope we could be friends here onwards." Kaoru pointed to her two friends before she smiled and extended her hand to Heero.
Heero was still deciding if he'll accept the young woman's hand when he remembered on one of his current objectives.
'Blend within the civilian population.' His thoughts reminded him. 'I'll need a source of information around here.'
He grunted in acknowledgment as he stood up and accepted Kaoru's hand with a small shake.
"Heero Yuy. Pleased to meet you Kaoru." The brown haired mobile suit pilot replied.
"Masayoshi Umehara." The spiky haired boy introduced himself offering his hand to Heero.
"Junichi Tachibana." Said the boy with bowl shaped haircut as he also moved for a handshake with Heero.
Heero shook their hands one after the other before looking back at Masayoshi and replying to his earlier query.
"Umehara, Tachibana, that is none of your business."
Both boys laughed nervously while scratching the back of their heads.
"We're sorry about that Yuy-san, we were just surprised since it's just your second day and we hear these sorts of things." Masayoshi apologized to him.
"Duly noted and accepted. Please call me Heero from now on." Heero answered.
"Thanks Heero, rest assured, we won't do it again." Junichi responded, as both he and Masayoshi were relieved to hear the Gundam Pilot's words.
"Lessons are about to start in the next 5 minutes, take your seats now before the class rep sees us." Kaoru motioned to Junichi and Masayoshi, before adding, "See you later Heero!"
Classes had already been adjourned for the day and Heero's status as the 'new kid' was elevated to a higher level when word of him being seen walking home with Haruka Morishima spread around the campus like wild fire. His homeroom classmates mobbed him during lunch to confirm the stories but he evaded the inquiries smoothly. This was enough to keep up the hopes of his female schoolmates, by class dismissal there were a good number of girls who still attempted to ask Heero if he wanted to leave the campus with them. Again, he politely declined the invitations, as right now the mobile suit pilot had to meet another objective. One of the three students he made acquaintances earlier, Kaoru Tanamachi, would be accompanying him in achieving that. During lunch period, he had showed the business card to both Junichi and Masayoshi and asked if they were familiar with the address information. Both boys referred him to Kaoru, since she worked part-time at a family restaurant near the business district. They surmised that it was possible that Kaoru could guide Heero to the address as she would be more familiar with the location.
The Gundam Pilot didn't have any problems as Kaoru was more than willing to help him. The dark wavy haired girl agreed to help Heero find the address on the business card before proceeding to her part-time job. They had just left the campus premises and were on their way to the business district when Kaoru started conversing with Heero.
"Say, Heero, you've told us earlier that you transferred here, because your parents were overseas and you didn't want to stay with your relatives, right?"
Heero only grunted in response, nodding slightly to Kaoru.
"Then why are you going to this address? Could it mean..."
"Yes Kaoru, I am looking for a job."
"But you seem well off, why bother?"
"My parents pay for the tuition and rent, but I decided that my allowance should come from my own efforts." Heero supplied, he had already thought of the excuse if his 'working student' status would be questioned.
"Wow! You really are something. Most of the boys at our class are like kids. They're still very dependent on the allowance they get from their parents." Kaoru gushed, looking at Heero with sparkling eyes.
"I understand you though, since I'm also working myself. My mom and I only have each other's backs to support one another." Kaoru added.
Heero nodded in response and both of them continued walking, they had reached the commercial area when Kaoru pointed her index finger to the direction of a family restaurant.
"That's where I work, once you get hired, visit me after work sometimes and I'll give you a discount!"
The Gundam Pilot smiled ever so slightly before nodding subtly in appreciation to what Kaoru has said. As they passed the corner leading to the business district, Kaoru took another look at the printed address on the contact card before handing it back to Heero.
"Ok... This is Emerald Drive... And that is Sapphire Street... Then... Oh, it's that building!" Kaoru excitedly announced, pointing directly to a high-rise building around two blocks away from where she works.
"I knew it was near, but I never thought it would be this close." She smiled while looking at Heero.
"Good luck, Heero!" Kaoru cried, as she started tracing the steps back her part-time job.
"Kaoru, thanks." The Gundam pilot replied, he nodded slightly at Kaoru who happily waved back before he made his way to the building.
The building was modeled using twenty-first century architecture, its interior is adequately designed, and the furniture and motif was minimalist inspired. It had about 35 floors for office space excluding 3 sub-basement floors for parking, the structure was located at the corner of the second block intersecting Sapphire Street from Garnet Boulevard. GDT Builders was considered a powerhouse in its industry and Minoru Takeda is one of the partners in the construction firm. Heero did not wait long at the reception area, he was immediately referred to the 34th floor where the office of the man he helped two nights ago was situated. Adjacent to the two black doors that served as entrance to Takeda's office was the table of his secretary. She only looked at him once before contacting her boss in his private line informing him that the Gundam Pilot had arrived. Heero was then motioned to enter the room after receiving confirmation from Minoru Takeda to let the young man enter.
"I have been expecting you, young lad." Minoru Takeda smiled widely as he stood and shook hands with Heero.
"It's a pleasure Mr. Takeda." Heero cordially replied.
"By the way, I had my mechanic check the car, according to him, what you did was just necessary. No need for any major repairs."
The brown haired boy nodded upon hearing Takeda's update, he was more concerned though if his coming to the man's office would mean an opportunity for employment.
"OK. On to business, I believe I heard you say that you're living independently from your parents who are working overseas?"
"That is correct, Mr. Takeda."
"I'm not sure if you are in need of cash, but I'd like to offer you a part-time job... That is if you're interested." The business man trailed, looking at Heero seriously.
"Indeed I am. I only asked my parents to help me with the lodging expenses and tuition fees. I'm shouldering my own allowance and other needs through personal savings."
Hearing the young man's response, the construction firm's big man nodded in approval.
"Seeing how capable you are, I think you might consider working in our industry, it would be a good opportunity to gauge your skills prior to selecting a particular field once you enter college." Mr. Takeda explained.
The Gundam Pilot smirked at himself on the opportunity presented, 'another problem solved, just one more and I'm all good... at least, while I wait for the reactor to be fully charged.'
"If you'll have me Mr. Takeda, I am willing to take the challenge. When do I start?"
The elder man smiled, pleased at Heero's response before moving to the desk and contacting his secretary's direct line.
"Ms. Hotaru? Please come inside the office, I'll need you to jot down the specifics of Mr. Yuy's part-time employment contract."
Author's Notes:
I have corrected Heero's scene in the cafeteria on Chapter 2, the girl he was supposed to help with should've been Sae Nakata, not Riza Kamizaki. This is similar to how Haruka first got to notice the original protagonist in Amagami SS.
Chapter titles - hope you've already noticed that the titles were inspired by both Gundam Wing and Amagami SS (Haruka Arc) episodes. Expect all chapters to have such titles.
With this update, I've already introduced most of the people that will be dealing with Heero. Also, his source of income is now secured and he just needs to solve one more problem before we can say he's settled. Finally, he had his first conscious interaction with Haruka.
Again, thanks to everyone who's been reading this fanfic, and please don't hesitate to send a review or reaction. It really helps the writer gauge the story's progress and check if he's on pace with his story board.
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.