Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Bonds ❯ Informed. ( Chapter 23 )

Blood Bonds

By Tygerlilee

Chapter Twenty-Three

Informed.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

Yachi was leaning over the steaming pot standing on a chair with a spoon guiltily in her mouth when she heard her mother cough loudly behind her. "Hi Mom…"

"What do you think you are doing young lady?"

"Making sure that you are filling your job description," Yachi said firmly.

"Oh really, and what is my description?" Ai asked, one eyebrow characteristically cocked.

Yachi draped her arms around her mother's neck. "Gourmet chief, chauffeur, organizer…" Ai burst out laughing at her daughter's response and ruffled her hair affectionately.

A door slammed from the back of the house. "That," Ai said cheerfully, "must be your father and brother. Do me a favor and go tell them that dinner's just about ready, so they need to wash up."

"Okay," Yachi chirped, blithely bouncing out of the room.

Ai shook her head and dragged the chair back to the dining room smiling. She was humming softly as she tossed the salad and felt warm arms slink around her waist, a face nuzzling into her neck. "Did you have a good day at work, Ryuzou?"

"Hmm…" he mumbled into the crook of her neck.

Ai giggled softly. "You've been outside. You smell like grass."

"Is that good?"

"Sometimes…" Ai smiled quietly. It was rare that her husband was in such an affectionate mood, and she was going to make the most of it.

"Hey Mom, what's up?" Toshi asked loudly clomping into the kitchen. Ai felt her husband swiftly slip away to lean on the cupboard.

"I'm making your dinner. Be a doll and put the juice on the table, then get your sister."

"Sure thing," he grinned widely.

"So what happened at work?" Ai asked her husband.

"I turned in my report to Schavogo," Mr. Iwasato said expressionlessly.

"Oh, what did he say?" Ai wondered.

"Not much," he answered his wife.

The family happily gathered around the table for dinner, laughing, teasing, and talking as usual.

"We got a letter from Huy and Heero today," Ai announced.

"What'er they up too?" Toshi asked curiously, food falling out of his open mouth.

"Well, you can read it, it's on the rail by the foyer. But it sounds like Heero's feeling better and not trying to dodge them so much. Huy was pretty upbeat. I can't read Heero as usual. He's so evasive and closed," Ai said, ignoring her son's atrocious table manners.

The table became silent for a split second, the same thing on everyone's minds--except Yachi. She had not been born at the time of 'the incident,' and was too innocent to realize.

"But they sound great!" Ai said quickly and cheerfully.

Yachi immediately launched into and enthusiastic outline of her day as she poured salt all over her food.

"You know, if you have too much salt you'll die before the age of thirty," Toshi said earnestly.

"You can't scare me. Mom told me that you just say stuff like that…"

The vidphone rang in the middle of the discussion, so Ai didn't hear the rest of it as she rose to answer it. "Hello," she greeted in her usual cheerful tone.

"Is this the Iwasato residence?" a sharp voice from a dark man with graying hair asked.

"Yes, it is…this is Ai," Ai said. She suddenly had a horrible feeling; an icy hand griped her stomach and she quickly went into the living room away from the family to listen. Something was terribly wrong. She had no idea where this feeling was coming from…today had been so good, but she just knew that something had happened. Woman's intuition maybe…

As she sat down on the couch and flicked on the visual for the phone on the coffee table, the voice on the other end suggested that she should sit down before he said what he needed to say. Not a good sign. Ai felt an arm around her waist and she leaned against her husband. He could sense her distress. She could hear the kids chattering and bickering in the dining room.

"Mrs. Iwasato, this is Chief Ratlif of the Lowery colony's police department."

"What's happened? Is my son all right?" she pressed quickly, Ryuzou's embrace tightened.

"I will be perfectly honest with you, ma'am. We, um, well…" he trailed off for a second as if trying to decide exactly what to say. "We don't know if he is all right because, you see, Huy disappeared three days ago. We've been looking for him twenty-four hours a day since then ma'am, and we will find him but…" his voice waned, and Ai's breathing grew ragged and erratic.

"What do you know? Can I help, what?" she felt Ryuzou turn her to face him so that he could read her eyes. His eyes were asking her to tell him what was happening; he could see the man on the screen, but Ai was speaking on the phone extension, so he could not hear anything.

"I really don't know what you can do ma'am, but I.."

"I'm coming there…his roommate, what about him, how is Heero doing?" she asked sharply.

"Well, that's part of the problem. It seems that your son was with some friends, including the roomate, and they were probably doing something illegal as they haven't told us yet where they were. Just that Huy is gone. We just don't know. Heero is like a brick wall, and we can't get a thing out of him, when he is around. That kid has an amazing talent for disappearing and reappearing just as suddenly."

"I'm glad you called."

"I thought you would want to know. I'm…I'm very sorry ma'am…I know that my meager sympathies are very inadequate, but I am sorry."

"Thank you," Ai said in a dead voice and hung up.

She felt her husband looking at her, trying to pry the situation from her. She couldn't look at him; she felt so weak. Then she burst out crying and threw her arms around Ryuzou, sobbing convulsively. He held her close and rocked her in his arms, swaying and rubbing her back.

"It's all right Ai. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not," she hiccuped out. "It's not…Huy's missing and Heero's got something to do with it…what's happening to our sons…I lose one, find him but cannot say anything, lose the other because of the first…what can we do?"

"I think you had better tell me everything that the caller said…"

"Mom, Dad…what's going on," Toshi asked quietly, white-faced, looking on his parents tightly embracing each other…his mother's tear stained face…

Ai jumped up and flew to her son, holding Toshi close. "My baby," she whispered, "my baby…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero grunted as he slung his heavy backpack over his shoulder and walked quickly down the hall, head held erect, defying the staring, prying eyes. Neas was walking heavily behind him. A firm, steady clomp, clomping of his boots on the cold tile floor walked on.

Since Huy was gone, the uniting force in the group had left. Culver the coward had left the support of friends and was hiding in another group, avoiding the rest. Kumen and Jimbo were both a bit blundering, frightened, and simpering, following quietly. Neas was made of much stronger stuff-Heero suspected that the boy had been through several huge ordeals in his own life-he was so different from everyone else. But he never pressed for details, he understood. Heero was the leader. It was natural for him, in his blood he supposed, and he rose to take the position as he had several times before during the wars. Now Kumen and Jimbo were safe in their dorms as Heero and Neas headed out to find Huy.

As Heero and Neas left the building, several fuzzes jumped up from the benches to assail the boys, pestering them with questions. But they wouldn't talk, and neither would the other boys, but for different reasons. Kumen and Jimbo were in shock and could not think to say anything, and Culver was terrified of getting arrested and suspended, or worse in his opinion, expelled. Heero snorted in disgust at the thought of the blond boy.

Neas followed Heero down the street, where they sprinted around several buildings, losing the police and slipping off of the school campus. They found a local café and sat down at neighboring computers, and simultaneously their fingers dashed up and down the keyboards. They only had two hours to research before they had to back at school for dinner and mandatory study, then curfew. They picked up where they had left off the day before, scanning the screens.

"Heero," Neas whispered. "Those guys who flew in…I e-mailed Jimbo's brother about them, but he won't give us anything."

Heero nodded. "About what I'd expected. Keep looking. I'm going to e-mail some sources of my own." Heero glared at the screen…he hadn't wanted to contact any of the Gundam pilots, but he was going to have too. He just couldn't find anything and time was short. It had been four days since Huy disappeared.

He clicked the 'send' button to Wufei's e-mail, then Duo, and Quatre. Trowa didn't have an address, but Quatre would surely ask him.

The clock clicked on until finally the boys were forced to abandon the search…another fruitless day. Another day lost…but Heero would come back later that night, even if he had to break into the school's library. But he would leave Neas out of it-he didn't want any trouble for his friend.

They met Kumen and Jimbo at lunch, and Neas tried forced conversation until Kumen piped up. "Can't we tell, I mean, we should, maybe it would help…"

Heero stopped him before he could complete his thought. "No. There is nothing those cowards can do. They'd never believe the truth and I'm not going to waste precious time trying to convince them. They will believe what they want to. Besides, there is nothing they can do that I can't do better. I'm not being cocky, it's just the truth. You won't say anything, okay," Heero finished forcefully. Then he softened as he looked at Kumen and Jimbo's faces. It wasn't their faults that they couldn't handle this. "It will be okay. I'll find him, I promise."

Heero decided to go straight to the bathroom and get ready for bed before anyone else could get there. He didn't feel like dealing with the other kids.

He quickly showered, brushed his teeth, and strode down the hall, unlocking the door. He sighed and lowered his head, relieved that the world was locked out side his door. But then he looked up and saw her…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'll meet you in a couple hours," Ryuzou said quietly, before squeezing his wife's hand and driving away.

Ai watched the taillights disappear down the street before sighing, trying to gather what little strength was left in her body. Her son was gone…she hadn't eaten since she found out, she couldn't. It was so hard…

She rang the bell of the dorm building until a plump woman answered the door. "What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"I was wondering if I could visit my son's room-Huy Iwasato," she said softly.

The woman's look immediately softened as she realized the situation. "Of course, I'll let you in." The woman opened the door for Ai and waddled to her office, unlocking a tall metal cabinet, and took a key off of a hook.

The women led Ai up several sets of stairs and down a couple hallways till she reached C-17 and let Ai in. "You can let yourself out whenever you want," she said kindly.

Ai smiled and thanked the woman. She turned and looked at the neat little room. The bottom bunk was made neat and straight, one desk clean and orderly, books lined against the back, a lamp hanging over with a can of pens and pencils, one closet straight-all the clothes clean and hung, shoes in a line. The other bunk's lumpy blankets were piled at the end of the bed. The other desk was littered with papers, books, pencils, basketball schedules, an old sweaty uniform, a family picture, the other closet had a heap of shoes and shirts and jeans crumpled at the bottom-only a select few items were actually hung.

Ai reached up to the top bunk and shifted the blankets until she found the teddy bear she knew was there, hidden as always. She held the small animal in front of her and stared at its blank glass eyes. Quietly she sat down on the bottom, made bunk bed and held the animal to her, tears leaking out.

The door clicked and her head shot up as she watched Huy walk in…no…it was Heero…Heero…

He didn't seem to notice her. His face was tight and troubled, open and vulnerable. He swung his bag to the floor and glanced up, startled, to see her slumped on his bed. His face was immediately wiped clean of all emotion. "Ai," he greeted.

"Hello Heero. How are you doing?"

"Fine." Heero hesitated and then asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find out about Huy. The police chief called me yesterday, so Ryuzou and I booked a couple flights. Here we are." She smiled kindly at him and looked hard at the bear in her hands. "Huy's grandmother gave him this when he was born. He slept with it every night and if it was ever missing, he'd wail until it was found. Once he couldn't find it and I rocked him until he hadn't the strength to cry any more. Huy…would get so…attached to things, and people." Her long eyelashes covered her tear filled eyes, soaked with the salty liquid.

"Heero, I didn't come here just to weep and wail and gnash my teeth as I looked at all of Huy's belongings. If you don't want to tell me anything, I understand, but at least let me help you. I know you are good friends with Huy and you must miss him. Please, let me help you at least a little."

Heero's face remained unreadable as he sat down in the desk chair. "I can find Huy, Ai. I promise. I…it was my fault that he disappeared, and I will find him. I promise."

"Heero…you are seventeen, honey. It would be so much better if you just told the police all that you know and let them handle it. He could be found quicker and…"

"They wouldn't believe!" Heero interrupted her fiercely. Ai eyes widened at his sudden out burst, the flaming eyes blazing at her.

"Heero…"

"It wouldn't do any good. I can't tell them, they can't help. I will find him on my own. I promise."

Ai sighed softly. "I just wish that you would let me help."

"How?" Heero asked very clearly, challenging her to say something.

"Oh Heero," she whimpered and clung to the bear, eyes wide and pleading with him. Then her resolve seemed to harden and she got up, putting the bear back onto Huy's bed. "Ryuzou and I are staying at a hotel downtown. Here's the address and phone number if you need us. We are staying here 'til Huy is found."

Heero nodded and remained sitting stiffly as she put a yellow piece of paper on the corner of his desk. Ai walked toward him but then averted her path to the door and was gone.

Heero climbed onto his bed and clutched his pillow, burying his face. The foot of the bed was warm where Ai had been siting. Heero refused to cry. He had to sleep so that he could go out and look for Huy.

He set his alarm for two o'clock, turned the volume down low, and climbed into bed, turning out the light.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Huy groaned loudly as the foot collided with his ribs. He was going to break…he knew it, any minute.

Wham!! Smack!!

Then the abuse paused and a man yelled in frustration at him.

"What do you want from me?" Huy groaned softly. "What do you want?"

"You will help us."

"How, I don't understand."

"How? You ask how?" the red head grinned maliciously. He paused and paced up and down the room, then began to explain with thinly disguised excitement. "We've built a mobile suit from some older plans, but good plans nonetheless, but none of us have been able to pilot it. With your skills, you could master it in a week! Then, with the rest of our group, we could storm the Earth. We've already got a man stationed to take care of Miss Darlin the moment we give the signal. Chaos, it will be utter chaos. A new leader will have to arise and all will be taken care of. We will be back where we were." He paused and smiled again. "What do you say?"

"Why? What's all this for?"

The red-head threw back his head and laughed. "What do you mean, 'what's all this for?' We can't allow people to become complacent, now can we? And what else are you going to do with your life? You aren't fit for anything else."

"You are looking for Heero Yuy aren't you? I'm not Heero," Huy whispered.

"Oh, getting technical are we? Yes, we realize that that isn't your real name boy, but you are still the same killer you were last year when you piloted Wing Zero and blew up the Barton's barracks. Join us…you have no purpose out of battle."

Huy breathed in and out and couldn't believe it when he heard himself say, out of instinct, "Let me think about it."

"Good. We will be eager for your answer." And then he left, slamming the door behind him.

Huy drew his hands to his chest and curled into the fetal position. They had pulled him off of the chair and retied his hands in front of him, it was much more comfortable, but his backside was expose to their abuse….

Wing Zero…that was a gundam…the main gundam…Huy's mind began to spin. Heero was a gundam pilot…a gundam pilot he never believed existed. Tears leaked out.

No wonder…he had never known…gundam pilot zero one…who self-detonated in Sibera…who fought the Lightening Count in the final stages of the war…who stormed the barracks…fought without remorse…killed without care…heartless…cold…. Huy forgot his wounds and cried for his friend-Heero had died a most painful spiritual death.

"I think that I'm finally pounding some sense into that brat," the redhead said triumphantly to the other two men gathered at the table in the small kitchen. The blond was staring off at the stove and the black-headed man was absorbed in a newspaper.

"Don't be too sure, Traz. I don't think that we got it right," the blond man with the scar cautioned.

"What do you mean, 'not right'?" The other man tossed a newspaper across the table to the redhead. "What's this, Yajoroo?"

"Read," the other man instructed.

Traz sat down in an empty chair and unfolded the paper, exposing the front page. "Crap…"

"That's about what boss said."

"Quit calling me 'boss.'" The blond muttered. "I'm going to call for backup."

"Why don't we just go and get him?" Traz asked.

The blond massaged the bridge of his nose, the word 'moron' on the edge of his tongue. "He's a gundam pilot. He'll be on his guard now. The only thing we can hope for is that he will come for Huy. He's a friend of the kid according to the paper. I also sent Jensin to scope out the situation-he should be back in a couple hours."

He stopped to take a sip of his hot coffee. "So what…" Traz started.

"If my guess is correct, Heero Yuy will come after Huy and we need to be ready. If Yuy does come, the four of us won't be a match for him."

"He's a kid…"

"Who evaded the Romafeller Foundation, OZ, White Fang…even when he was captured, he outsmarted his enemies and escaped. We can't afford to underestimate him."

"But…"

"I've already decided, Traz. Shut up," he told the red-head.

"What do we do with the kid now?" Yajoroo asked diverting the heated discussion.

"I suppose we see if he knows anything about the Gundam Pilots. He just might be of some use yet…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero held the hard copy of the e-mail in his hands. Wufei had replied to his call for help quickly. He was a Preventor with inside information, information that Heero needed desperately. Huy would be killed, if he wasn't already dead.

He sunk down into the back of the bench, lost, doubtful of his skills as he had never been before. He opened his backpack and held a familiar heavy metal weapon in his hand loosely, a cartridge in the other hand. He hadn't used a gun since last Christmas. He had been so relieved to give it up, to lose it forever. He didn't have to kill anymore…not ever again…but now, he would have to take up arms again. Could he?

Lightening quick senses prickled and told him someone was near on the cold morning-four o'clock to be precise. Heero hid the gun in his backpack and had zipped it up quickly when a man appeared in front of him. He was about to run when a hand stopped him, and he looked up to meet Mr. Iwasato's hard gaze. "Don't you have a curfew?"

"Yes. Don't you need to get some sleep. You traveled all day yesterday," Heero retorted.

"I couldn't sleep so I left a note for Ai and went on a walk."

Heero nodded…he could understand that. "I hope you weren't planning on doing what I thought you were with that gun you've got."

Heero kept his head down to hide his shock. "What did you think I was planning?"

"You've had a hard life, anyone can see that, Heero. Don't give up yet."

"I'm not a coward. I'd never do that," Heero argued back as he realized what Mr. Iwasato was implying.

"You misunderstand. I could never believe you a coward, but you are alone and undeniably tired and sickened by this world."

Heero shook his head. "I don't get it. Why are you two so nice to me? I'm the reason that Huy is missing. In a way I expected Ai to be forgiving, but not you. Why?"

"You remind me of another very lost seventeen-year-old, years and years ago."

Then Mr. Iwasato turned to leave. "We were in a bar," Heero said quickly. He didn't mean to say anything, and he certainly didn't intend on telling Huy's father what really happened…he would never let Heero near his family if he knew, but it just came out.

Mr. Iwasato turned and sat down beside Heero and waited for the rest of the story, and Heero realized that Huy's father was incredibly sly and perceptive. But nevertheless, Heero looked directly ahead and spoke in a regular robotic voice, as if reading a report. "It started when Culver started bragging about how much liquor he could hold and Neas challenged him 'til finally Neas suggested that we all go to a bar and see how some alcohol would settle in Culver's stomach. So Huy and I just went along with them for kicks. It was a dusty old place lost in downtown. We all ordered and were talking when I noticed a group of guys watching me. I'm too familiar with situations like that, so I got up to leave as quickly and unnoticeably as possible."

Here Heero expected his listener to interrupt with questions, but Mr. Iwasato didn't, so he continued. "I walked toward the back door, but then slipped into the bathroom and out the window on the side of the building. Then I went home. The guys tell me that Huy went after me-he thought something was wrong. They thought I was offended because they were teasing Huy and I for ordering Orange juice at a bar when we went through all that trouble to sneak out. But Huy disappeared. The guys came knocking on my door at six that morning and I went out looking for Huy. Huy didn't 'disappear' on his own. He was abducted…by four men who thought he was me. I contacted a guy I know at the Preventors. I know who took Huy and I'm pretty sure why. They are a little-league group of terrorists…at least they were until recently. They've been following in the Barton's shoes by hoarding mobile suits. They managed to get a hold of some blueprints for a gundam prototype. They are trying to get a gundam pilot to join their cause, so they sent messages to all of them. But apparently they wanted to see me in person. I think they wanted me the most out of all because I was the one to master the zero system, and I was the one who once was an assassin. That's why I can't tell the police anything," Heero finished and was quiet.

Mr. Iwasato sat quietly digesting all the Heero had said, his mind raced. He wasn't sure what to say, but he could feel Heero needed acceptance for who and what he was. Then he remembered that Heero was a seven-teen year old kid.

"Heero, it's okay to cry," Ryuzou said softly.

Before, Heero hadn't any inclination to, but after Ryuzou said that it was like a switch had been flipped and all of a sudden a huge lump dropped down into his stomach and a loud sob escaped his lips. And he was crying into Ryuzou's large shoulder, clinging. "It's okay Heero. You are not what you were and you will not revert to what you were if you have to fight any one to protect those you care about. You are you and no one else…" Ryuzou comforted, rubbing the boy's back soothingly. "You don't have to be strong on your own anymore. Let us help you. We are now your family too…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N "…"

Toodles for now, Tygerlilee =^,^=