Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dream of Me ❯ Living Ghosts ( Chapter 6 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Moon Star 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.17.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 185 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.17.2003 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 185 | Status: Completed
MS
We're going to kill ourselves in here. I can't believe it took us this long to write this. I'm having a headache and I don't think it's going to disappear any time soon.
This is a co-author work. I handle the publishing and Moon Star handles the complains... go and bug her out.
Disclaimer : I don't own any of the characters in this story, but I own a terrible headache.
Dream of Me
Chapter 6 : Living Ghosts
Waking up had never been such a drag for Midii. She didn't know why but she felt that something wanted her glued to the bed for the whole day and week altogether. She should have known better than to get up, but she did. And the pain and drag ness was a thing of the past.
This was the day. They were going to leave for the colonies in the afternoon for the so waited trip of Relena. And she still had to get ready.
Midii realized that she had not packed a single thing that she had brought. She needed to have at least the bare essentials ready before she even came out of the room.
With her mind on the trip and it's final implications, Midii started off the day.
And it didn't end quite as plan.
The house was buzzing with people going around like a normal day. With the only difference that Heero and Trowa were locked on one of the offices with their special assignments and didn't even acknowledge the comings and goings that happened around them.
It was as normal as it would ever be in the place.
Relena sighted almost painfully as she finally escaped the maid's rumblings about the closeted room in the corner. Why did everyone say that there was a ghost around the house when there was absolutely no phenomenon to prove it.
This was the third time that the poor maid had come shivering from the room, with her hairs standing to ends. She had never seen someone so out of control with the living people around them. It had seemed as if the poor girl was going to faint on the spot as she just placed one foot in front of the other but her eyes never closed. She had looked like a walking ghost herself.
It had been one of those creaks that never meant anything. It was an old mansion after all. What did they expect? If they didn't want a house with creaks then they should tear it down and remodel from the foundation. But hey, the house was hers and it was staying the way it was.
Relena didn't even know why she bothered? People would always think that there would be ghosts in old places and every little thing that happened was going to prove it's existence.
It was about time that she got someone in there to go over the room. Why did she put it up for so long? Maybe because of all the troubles that it had made to open the room and air it after 100 years with no ventilation.
Well, house history was over. She had other things to preoccupy herself with. Relena marched straight from the top to the bottom and into the main library at the bottom floor.
Heero had wanted no help, so he was going to carry all of the things to the cars and get himself out of the front of the laptop if she had to strip tease it out of him. God knows she had done it before and succeeded.
She entered the library and walked straight up to the door to the office and knocked hard.
"Coming," Trowa said as he opened the door. He was ready to get out of the place and get out of the way. He may be the outsider here but he wasn't going to just stand there and be in the way.
He smiled his usual detached greeting at Relena and she responded with one in return. "He's right there." Relena entered the room just as Trowa started to move out of the way and out of the room.
"Don't think of disappearing," Relena warned. "You're helping so don't move."
Trowa had no idea to what she was talking about but if she didn't want him to excuse himself, he couldn't do it. Sometimes he truly understood the power that this woman had over Heero.
"Heero," Relena extended her hand and clasped it tightly against the gundam pilot. "You need to start to move the suitcases to the cars if you don't want me to have a nervous breakdown."
Trowa knew it was his time to follow as Relena walked, dragging the gundam pilot on her wake. Not like he was protesting. The faster they got the luggage out of the way, the more time to relax and make this trip without mishaps.
"Most of the things are down in the kitchen," Relena explained as she moved them both to the other side of the house. "All you need to do is make sure they fit in the car."
Skipping around like she had appeared, Relena disappeared from the place again. She seemed to be in a very hipper mood.
"She seems content," Trowa commented as he reclined himself to the walls of the kitchen and assumed his shadow stance.
"She is," Heero answered.
"You know," Relena appeared in the doorway out of nowhere. "I forgot that all of yesterday's clothes haven't still been brought out here." She directed herself to both Heero and Trowa. "If you guys don't mind then, I'll need to require your services to haul the suitcases down the stairs."
She was almost blushing as she continued to smile. Trowa noticed that the bursts of energy was unnerving to someone as himself.
Instead of waiting for something to happen, Trowa threw himself from the wall and turned towards her. "I'll help up there." Not waiting for anything, Trowa passed her and directed himself to the familiar flight of stairs of the front hall.
"He's too serious," Relena remarked as Trowa silently passed by her. "Something's on his mind." Heero opened his mouth to say the obvious answer but she waved it away.
"It's another kind of trouble," Relena settled herself on one of the chairs of the place to get a breather and finally realized her folly.
"Shoot it," she shoot up from her seat and ran out of the room to see if she could get caught up with Trowa before he would reach the stairs and she would have to start all over again. Her mind was really playing tricks on her today.
"Trowa," she called as she followed him. It was quite a hallway to get to the main flight of stairs. She was sure that he was taking his time with it as well.
She still needed those clearings... she had to hurry before everything turned around.
* * *
Who knew a cat could be so pettish? Midii asked herself as she carried her little friend out of the room. She had spent the whole day inside and the cat hadn't even moved from the seat. Being a cat was not such a hard life.
Midii walked down the room hallways to go down the stairs. She fingered the bell that seemed to be in the cat's collar. The fur coat that hugged her fingers only made her more unaware to the place around her.
A careful but still a slip caused her to break her strides and for her hand to shoot out to the poles beside her. She was in the entryway of going down the stairs. She clung to the cat as if clung to her sudden movement. It growled and crawled out of her arms, shooting down the stairs to the foyer and disappearing in between the legs of an approaching figure.
Regaining her balance, Midii placed her hand on her temple to make sure everything was in focus. It was. She wavered but still slid one arm to the banister and started to descend the flight of stairs with only placing one foot in front of the other.
At the bottom was Trowa, concealed halfway in the shadows and halfway out into the light.
He had seen her appear out of nowhere from up the stairs and his breath had been stolen away. How could perfection still be in her after all these years?
He had seen her slip momentarily. It seemed more from out of balance than something else. She was unsettled. But not as much as he was right there.
There was no way that two people in the world could be this much alike. It was her in body and facial. It was the Midii from the past, mixed with the years that had passed.
It was still her.
Taking another half step back, he concealed himself from the length of the stairs. Although he didn't have to do it. She hadn't seen him, too preoccupied on her descending that she only looked one foot outward and nothing else.
But, it was her. He had no doubts about it.
And what to do...
Without a clue of her being observed, Midii regained her control and finally moved at her full strength. She was walking down the last steps when Relena's voice caught up with her. She seemed to be calling someone.
"Trowa," Relena called as she appeared at the scene. Not noticing Midii's halt as Trowa turned abruptly. She had seen the motion in the shadows, finally seeing that there had been someone obstructed from view.
Her breath halted. The silence deafening as part of the concealed body was revealed by the person's shift. It was her dream come true.
The same face, the same hair, the same eyes. From the flickering hairs that were revealed, she could see and remember the same bush that fell over his right eye. It was the same style, the same color, the same spikes that she had so long longed to see.
But now... only a shriek of surprise that was emerging was stopped by her flying hand. She closed her mouth, only a gasp strangling out of her resolve.
And enough to have his eyes on her again.
Those eyes... they would strip her soul out with their flashing stripes. He was menacing, powerful, and utterly gothic.
"Trowa?" Relena called again, waiting for him to strip himself out of the shadows. She finally directed her eyes toward the other person in the room.
"Nanashi," Midii let escape as she saw his full silhouette. It was inevitable, still she followed her instincts.
Run... run with all of your strength. Escape.
Without a second thought to the consequences, she did just that. "This can't be," she said out loud before turning to an escape route and flew past Relena toward the back doors.
Without knowing it, she passed a walking Heero, momentarily collapsing on him but quickly regaining her previous need.
"Midii," Relena brushed past him as well, but with no collision. Heero's gaze turned from her to the other end of the hallway, where Trowa stood. His face covered partly by the shadows made by the angle of the lamp.
His eyes withdrawn and forlorn.
Something had happened. But what, who knew?
* * *
Everyone stopped and watched as first Midii zoomed out of the house by the back entrance and as Relena followed her calling her name frantically. Shaking their heads from any thing that might explain what was happening, everyone turned to their chores.
One of the back doors shoot open, slamming to the wall supporter as Midii ran out to the back gardens. Not thinking of direction, she went straight ahead, just wanting the comfort of some space from the house. And space from him.
She believed that it had happened, but now was not the time. She would never feel ready for this confrontation.
She could picture his burning eyes as he had shot at the communicator ten years ago. The burning fire that had tantalized her and made her believe that he would shoot her and her existence was going out. And now, the image was replaced with his cold eye stare. There was no other way for escape.
They were void of any emotion nor reaction to her. Both images clashing with one another. That was one thing that made her run. He was frozen within towards her. She would never be able to take that.
She felt her face cringe, she stopped moving, her hand stopping at her mouth. Stopped on her escape abruptly, caused her to fall forward. Her knees sinking into the hearth. Combulsing slightly, she settled her head right by her knees, her hand still covering her mouth.
Relena stopped by ten steps as she saw her crouched position. She could hear her labored breaths and the sobs that came at the same lapse time than the last one. Cries bunched up, as she leaned on the trunk of a tree.
"Midii," Relena said softly as she approached her friend. She was in a really low state of mind as she showed. Her eyes misty, her throat ranking with sobs.
"You shouldn't have ran," Relena reproached as she neared. Sitting beside her, she took her hand in hers and urged her to calm herself.
Her breathing controlled as she took long breaths, but her face continued with it's struggle to keep the sensation deep within.
Relena noticed a lopsided smile that appeared at Midii's face, not knowing what to expect. First in tears running from the house, and then rubbed in dirt smiling, leaning into the trunk of a tree.
"He's alive," a half-sob, half-giggle escaped her. A hiccup slurred her speech. "He didn't die on the war. He survived."
Sensing that it was best for her to continue with her incessant blabber with no interruptions, Relena let her continue. Still, only catching this word and that didn't help her any in understanding what had just happened minutes before.
Silence reigned as only Midii's hiccups interrupted from time to time. At least she had stopped crying, although Relena heard a rump as Midii tried to contain her sobs. Maybe that was for the best.
As if feeling the time right, Relena turned to her determination showing through. "What happened back there?"
Midii glanced at her, her expression bewildered. A sob escaped her lips again. "I ran from him."
"Who's he?"
"It was him," Midii replied as if she hadn't heard her question. "So many times I've seen his face in my dreams and I sank. I ran like a coward."
"Midii," Relena called patiently. She waited until Midii turned her attention to her before asking her again. She had to make sure that she was paying attention. "Who are you talking about?"
"Him," she replied. "Nanashi."
Relena shook her head for a moment. She really had no idea of what to make of this. "You mean you saw him?"
"Yes," Midii murmured as she pictured the moment. "He was standing half into the shadows as you came. His eyes still as emerald green as I had remembered, the bangs falling deep obscuring the view to one of his eyes." She released a sigh to keep herself calm. "But so cold." A shiver raked through her body.
"Are you talking about..."
"The man that was at the foot of the stairs." Midii cleared. "So mysterious, solitary and cold." Midii shut her eyes, for a moment wishing the picture to dissipate from her memory. But there it stayed. "Just like 10 years before as he looked at me in disgust."
"Trowa?" Relena managed to draw out. "You're saying that Trowa is the boy you talked to me about."
"Nanashi," she corrected. "No matter what name he carries, he'll always be Nanashi."
"I'm a little confused here," Relena admitted apologetically. "But then why did you just took off?"
"I don't know," the simple answer seemed to unsettle her more. "I really don't know."
* * *
Closing the door behind him, Trowa pushed the lock to stand. He knew that no one would come to look for him but he had the urge to close himself from the world around him.
He leaned towards the door, his back pressing. His face cast down, the immense locks encasing his face fully from any outside touch. Just hiding for some minutes from the truth. But minutes nonetheless that he needed.
She was here. He was here. Both alive.
And together again.
Fate was cruel in it's unusual style. It brought her to him for her to run and for him to hide. What was going on around here. Or anywhere else. Cowardice would always be your deepest friend and enemy.
Facing her again was not an easy step. He would allow that to make for his closeness. How would it all change now? She was alive and at his grip. He could easily reach out toward her and have her in his arms again.
Had anything changed at all? He wondered as he walked uncertainly toward one of the chairs of the room. Right before him was a light desk that had just enough space for a stack of papers. Instead of papers, his cards were scattered through.
He hadn't been able to coincide with sleep soon enough after his return to his rooms the night before. Now he knew why the vision had affected him so much.
His guest from the past had arrived.
Now, he knew what he needed. No, what he had to do.
But how to handle it?
* * *
"Are you ready to return yet?" Relena asked as she watched Midii pull herself together.
"Not just yet." Midii replied as she passed her hand by her eyes. Black mascara smeared her fingers, making her groan. She was sure that her make up was running down her face. What a pretty picture must she make.
"Don't worry about it," Relena commented as she heard her groan. "It's no real matter."
Turning her head, Midii stood up. She needed to show herself through this. She couldn't turn her head when it was time for her to take charge of her own situation. She had thought too much to this opportunity to right her wrongs than just give it up because of her sentiments.
She wouldn't run away from him this time. She should have ran after him when he left her ten years before. She was not going to let him think that she wasn't repentant of all that she had done to him or had done in her life.
She needed to show him.
"It's my time to search him out," the emphasis on him was stressed.
"That's good," Relena lead her toward the stone path that led them straight toward the house. It was just time to go back and confront her dream.
A walk down the circled path was enough time for them to pull their thoughts together. Relena had to think of a way to make sure that all would go smooth on their colony trip with this new piece of information. And Midii needed to think of a way to even get the words out of her mouth before she would freeze to his gaze.
He was not going to succeed on breaking her resolve. She had to be strong enough to even walk another step.
"Please don't," a voice disrupted their silent walk back toward the mansion. "Not up there."
Both girls turned toward their lefts and parted shrubs that obstructed their view.
Before them was an old man, who seemed to be pleading toward a tree. He had groaned as if giving up in his plea.
"How am I ever going to get you down?" He asked as he seemed to be searching for something long in his things.
"Who is that?" Midii asked her companion.
"That's one of the gardeners in here. His name is Nick," choosing the time to show herself, Midii followed her out as they parted the shrubs completely and made a beeline toward the oblivious gardener. "He's about 70 years old and has worked on the trees and flowers of this place for most of his life."
Hearing chatter behind him, the man turned around toward them as he stopped advancing toward the tree with a long branch.
"Oh," his cheeks colored as he tried to hide the stick behind his back. "Hello."
"Hi Nick," Relena smiled at the man, her amusement at finding him at such a stance present in her laughing eyes. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"Well," he blanched for a second, but gave up any excuse. Using the stick to lean in, he turned toward the tree and pointed to one of it's branches. "I seem to have a visitor residing on the tree."
Black, now yellow eyes reflected back from the darkness of the obscuring leaves. "Right after he had decided that half of my rosebuds needed a makeover."
The cat simply hissed as the man finished accusing him. It was not afraid of it.
"I'm sorry for that sir," Midii hastily apologized. "I didn't know that my cat was going to give you any trouble with the flowers."
"Not to worry about that," he sighed. "I'm just trying to get him down."
"That'd good of you," Relena said. "Not to hold a grudge with him."
"It's not that bad," and even after he said it, Midii still saw a little regret and hurt deep inside his words. He must really love his flowers then.
"Don't worry about it then," Relena masked the worry with her approval. "Let's just see how we can get that cat down."
She walked forward, her eyes strained in thinking how to get the dammed cat down. She could believe it all. He was simply sitting in his behind on the branch. Not caring for anything else but his paws as he licked them clean.
"I'm sorry," Nick apologized shamefaced to Midii, dragging her mind toward him. "I'm Nick Strausse." He smiled as he introduced himself. "I manage most of the flora around this enormous property."
"Pleased to meet you," his compelling smile drew one out of her. Although it was not easy but it flowed as strained. "I'm Midii." She kept it minimal.
"Nothing will reach him unless someone climbs up." Relena stated as she continued to watch the cat carefully. She had to study all the variables.
It simply brought a hiss from the feline and a sigh from Midii. Trying to keep the smile, she advanced toward the tree and pressed her palm toward the trunk. Examining each detail, she tested the branches. Strong and forceful. Choosing one with strait leaves and far away, enough to not really show the closeness.
And like a cat, she leaped.
It was such a surprise for the other two people that they simply stared. But she hadn't just leaped. She had held the deep branch, held and strained. Gripping with both hands, she elevated and with such practiced agility, she used the impulse to accelerate and there it happened. A second later, she was perfectly balanced on one of the branches that supported her.
She could still do it.
In a calm manner, she approached the cat and in a subtle move sat beside it. In the ground Relena bid farewell to the gardener. He looked back once and disappeared. They were alone once again.
Midii reached for her friend who completely let her handle him. She seemed to possess his complete trust. That would be good in some spheres. "How did he come out?"
"A maid must have let the windows open or something." Relena shivered at the brisk breeze. It seemed to remind her of the time of the year. She knew that neither of them were wearing any protective clothes against the cold. And Midii seemed to be unaware of it.
"Let's take him back," Relena brought up as the black demon tried to shot out of his captors hands.
Keeping him in a firm grasp, she swung down with one arm and landed trembling on her feet. It wasn't one thing that really got perfected. Plus, she was remembering deep in the night as she fell from the branch toward Relena's balcony. It wasn't a memory that really brought comfort.
She fuddled lightly with the collar. Noticing that part of the material had claws imprints and bitten out. It was ruined by the enormous cut across that she was sure came from one of the sharp branches. It became also clear that the cat was prickled.
She was now sure that he had been playing at the rose's bushes. He kept on licking parts of his body in which she knew were peaks of blood. Seeing his discomfort with the collar, she pressed the release, it splitting at a side falling down toward the ground.
Relena picked it up, giving hardly notice to the whirls she felt in her hands.
They neared the house, and Heero's shadow only followed them in to lead Relena toward the kitchen and Midii toward the other side.
Ten long, hard years. And a single second to realize her fears and excitement.
It was time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Too much time to write a damn chapter, but that's how things go. I really hope the next one will not cause so much trouble to write.
We apologize for the delay.
MS
We're going to kill ourselves in here. I can't believe it took us this long to write this. I'm having a headache and I don't think it's going to disappear any time soon.
This is a co-author work. I handle the publishing and Moon Star handles the complains... go and bug her out.
Disclaimer : I don't own any of the characters in this story, but I own a terrible headache.
Dream of Me
Chapter 6 : Living Ghosts
Waking up had never been such a drag for Midii. She didn't know why but she felt that something wanted her glued to the bed for the whole day and week altogether. She should have known better than to get up, but she did. And the pain and drag ness was a thing of the past.
This was the day. They were going to leave for the colonies in the afternoon for the so waited trip of Relena. And she still had to get ready.
Midii realized that she had not packed a single thing that she had brought. She needed to have at least the bare essentials ready before she even came out of the room.
With her mind on the trip and it's final implications, Midii started off the day.
And it didn't end quite as plan.
The house was buzzing with people going around like a normal day. With the only difference that Heero and Trowa were locked on one of the offices with their special assignments and didn't even acknowledge the comings and goings that happened around them.
It was as normal as it would ever be in the place.
Relena sighted almost painfully as she finally escaped the maid's rumblings about the closeted room in the corner. Why did everyone say that there was a ghost around the house when there was absolutely no phenomenon to prove it.
This was the third time that the poor maid had come shivering from the room, with her hairs standing to ends. She had never seen someone so out of control with the living people around them. It had seemed as if the poor girl was going to faint on the spot as she just placed one foot in front of the other but her eyes never closed. She had looked like a walking ghost herself.
It had been one of those creaks that never meant anything. It was an old mansion after all. What did they expect? If they didn't want a house with creaks then they should tear it down and remodel from the foundation. But hey, the house was hers and it was staying the way it was.
Relena didn't even know why she bothered? People would always think that there would be ghosts in old places and every little thing that happened was going to prove it's existence.
It was about time that she got someone in there to go over the room. Why did she put it up for so long? Maybe because of all the troubles that it had made to open the room and air it after 100 years with no ventilation.
Well, house history was over. She had other things to preoccupy herself with. Relena marched straight from the top to the bottom and into the main library at the bottom floor.
Heero had wanted no help, so he was going to carry all of the things to the cars and get himself out of the front of the laptop if she had to strip tease it out of him. God knows she had done it before and succeeded.
She entered the library and walked straight up to the door to the office and knocked hard.
"Coming," Trowa said as he opened the door. He was ready to get out of the place and get out of the way. He may be the outsider here but he wasn't going to just stand there and be in the way.
He smiled his usual detached greeting at Relena and she responded with one in return. "He's right there." Relena entered the room just as Trowa started to move out of the way and out of the room.
"Don't think of disappearing," Relena warned. "You're helping so don't move."
Trowa had no idea to what she was talking about but if she didn't want him to excuse himself, he couldn't do it. Sometimes he truly understood the power that this woman had over Heero.
"Heero," Relena extended her hand and clasped it tightly against the gundam pilot. "You need to start to move the suitcases to the cars if you don't want me to have a nervous breakdown."
Trowa knew it was his time to follow as Relena walked, dragging the gundam pilot on her wake. Not like he was protesting. The faster they got the luggage out of the way, the more time to relax and make this trip without mishaps.
"Most of the things are down in the kitchen," Relena explained as she moved them both to the other side of the house. "All you need to do is make sure they fit in the car."
Skipping around like she had appeared, Relena disappeared from the place again. She seemed to be in a very hipper mood.
"She seems content," Trowa commented as he reclined himself to the walls of the kitchen and assumed his shadow stance.
"She is," Heero answered.
"You know," Relena appeared in the doorway out of nowhere. "I forgot that all of yesterday's clothes haven't still been brought out here." She directed herself to both Heero and Trowa. "If you guys don't mind then, I'll need to require your services to haul the suitcases down the stairs."
She was almost blushing as she continued to smile. Trowa noticed that the bursts of energy was unnerving to someone as himself.
Instead of waiting for something to happen, Trowa threw himself from the wall and turned towards her. "I'll help up there." Not waiting for anything, Trowa passed her and directed himself to the familiar flight of stairs of the front hall.
"He's too serious," Relena remarked as Trowa silently passed by her. "Something's on his mind." Heero opened his mouth to say the obvious answer but she waved it away.
"It's another kind of trouble," Relena settled herself on one of the chairs of the place to get a breather and finally realized her folly.
"Shoot it," she shoot up from her seat and ran out of the room to see if she could get caught up with Trowa before he would reach the stairs and she would have to start all over again. Her mind was really playing tricks on her today.
"Trowa," she called as she followed him. It was quite a hallway to get to the main flight of stairs. She was sure that he was taking his time with it as well.
She still needed those clearings... she had to hurry before everything turned around.
* * *
Who knew a cat could be so pettish? Midii asked herself as she carried her little friend out of the room. She had spent the whole day inside and the cat hadn't even moved from the seat. Being a cat was not such a hard life.
Midii walked down the room hallways to go down the stairs. She fingered the bell that seemed to be in the cat's collar. The fur coat that hugged her fingers only made her more unaware to the place around her.
A careful but still a slip caused her to break her strides and for her hand to shoot out to the poles beside her. She was in the entryway of going down the stairs. She clung to the cat as if clung to her sudden movement. It growled and crawled out of her arms, shooting down the stairs to the foyer and disappearing in between the legs of an approaching figure.
Regaining her balance, Midii placed her hand on her temple to make sure everything was in focus. It was. She wavered but still slid one arm to the banister and started to descend the flight of stairs with only placing one foot in front of the other.
At the bottom was Trowa, concealed halfway in the shadows and halfway out into the light.
He had seen her appear out of nowhere from up the stairs and his breath had been stolen away. How could perfection still be in her after all these years?
He had seen her slip momentarily. It seemed more from out of balance than something else. She was unsettled. But not as much as he was right there.
There was no way that two people in the world could be this much alike. It was her in body and facial. It was the Midii from the past, mixed with the years that had passed.
It was still her.
Taking another half step back, he concealed himself from the length of the stairs. Although he didn't have to do it. She hadn't seen him, too preoccupied on her descending that she only looked one foot outward and nothing else.
But, it was her. He had no doubts about it.
And what to do...
Without a clue of her being observed, Midii regained her control and finally moved at her full strength. She was walking down the last steps when Relena's voice caught up with her. She seemed to be calling someone.
"Trowa," Relena called as she appeared at the scene. Not noticing Midii's halt as Trowa turned abruptly. She had seen the motion in the shadows, finally seeing that there had been someone obstructed from view.
Her breath halted. The silence deafening as part of the concealed body was revealed by the person's shift. It was her dream come true.
The same face, the same hair, the same eyes. From the flickering hairs that were revealed, she could see and remember the same bush that fell over his right eye. It was the same style, the same color, the same spikes that she had so long longed to see.
But now... only a shriek of surprise that was emerging was stopped by her flying hand. She closed her mouth, only a gasp strangling out of her resolve.
And enough to have his eyes on her again.
Those eyes... they would strip her soul out with their flashing stripes. He was menacing, powerful, and utterly gothic.
"Trowa?" Relena called again, waiting for him to strip himself out of the shadows. She finally directed her eyes toward the other person in the room.
"Nanashi," Midii let escape as she saw his full silhouette. It was inevitable, still she followed her instincts.
Run... run with all of your strength. Escape.
Without a second thought to the consequences, she did just that. "This can't be," she said out loud before turning to an escape route and flew past Relena toward the back doors.
Without knowing it, she passed a walking Heero, momentarily collapsing on him but quickly regaining her previous need.
"Midii," Relena brushed past him as well, but with no collision. Heero's gaze turned from her to the other end of the hallway, where Trowa stood. His face covered partly by the shadows made by the angle of the lamp.
His eyes withdrawn and forlorn.
Something had happened. But what, who knew?
* * *
Everyone stopped and watched as first Midii zoomed out of the house by the back entrance and as Relena followed her calling her name frantically. Shaking their heads from any thing that might explain what was happening, everyone turned to their chores.
One of the back doors shoot open, slamming to the wall supporter as Midii ran out to the back gardens. Not thinking of direction, she went straight ahead, just wanting the comfort of some space from the house. And space from him.
She believed that it had happened, but now was not the time. She would never feel ready for this confrontation.
She could picture his burning eyes as he had shot at the communicator ten years ago. The burning fire that had tantalized her and made her believe that he would shoot her and her existence was going out. And now, the image was replaced with his cold eye stare. There was no other way for escape.
They were void of any emotion nor reaction to her. Both images clashing with one another. That was one thing that made her run. He was frozen within towards her. She would never be able to take that.
She felt her face cringe, she stopped moving, her hand stopping at her mouth. Stopped on her escape abruptly, caused her to fall forward. Her knees sinking into the hearth. Combulsing slightly, she settled her head right by her knees, her hand still covering her mouth.
Relena stopped by ten steps as she saw her crouched position. She could hear her labored breaths and the sobs that came at the same lapse time than the last one. Cries bunched up, as she leaned on the trunk of a tree.
"Midii," Relena said softly as she approached her friend. She was in a really low state of mind as she showed. Her eyes misty, her throat ranking with sobs.
"You shouldn't have ran," Relena reproached as she neared. Sitting beside her, she took her hand in hers and urged her to calm herself.
Her breathing controlled as she took long breaths, but her face continued with it's struggle to keep the sensation deep within.
Relena noticed a lopsided smile that appeared at Midii's face, not knowing what to expect. First in tears running from the house, and then rubbed in dirt smiling, leaning into the trunk of a tree.
"He's alive," a half-sob, half-giggle escaped her. A hiccup slurred her speech. "He didn't die on the war. He survived."
Sensing that it was best for her to continue with her incessant blabber with no interruptions, Relena let her continue. Still, only catching this word and that didn't help her any in understanding what had just happened minutes before.
Silence reigned as only Midii's hiccups interrupted from time to time. At least she had stopped crying, although Relena heard a rump as Midii tried to contain her sobs. Maybe that was for the best.
As if feeling the time right, Relena turned to her determination showing through. "What happened back there?"
Midii glanced at her, her expression bewildered. A sob escaped her lips again. "I ran from him."
"Who's he?"
"It was him," Midii replied as if she hadn't heard her question. "So many times I've seen his face in my dreams and I sank. I ran like a coward."
"Midii," Relena called patiently. She waited until Midii turned her attention to her before asking her again. She had to make sure that she was paying attention. "Who are you talking about?"
"Him," she replied. "Nanashi."
Relena shook her head for a moment. She really had no idea of what to make of this. "You mean you saw him?"
"Yes," Midii murmured as she pictured the moment. "He was standing half into the shadows as you came. His eyes still as emerald green as I had remembered, the bangs falling deep obscuring the view to one of his eyes." She released a sigh to keep herself calm. "But so cold." A shiver raked through her body.
"Are you talking about..."
"The man that was at the foot of the stairs." Midii cleared. "So mysterious, solitary and cold." Midii shut her eyes, for a moment wishing the picture to dissipate from her memory. But there it stayed. "Just like 10 years before as he looked at me in disgust."
"Trowa?" Relena managed to draw out. "You're saying that Trowa is the boy you talked to me about."
"Nanashi," she corrected. "No matter what name he carries, he'll always be Nanashi."
"I'm a little confused here," Relena admitted apologetically. "But then why did you just took off?"
"I don't know," the simple answer seemed to unsettle her more. "I really don't know."
* * *
Closing the door behind him, Trowa pushed the lock to stand. He knew that no one would come to look for him but he had the urge to close himself from the world around him.
He leaned towards the door, his back pressing. His face cast down, the immense locks encasing his face fully from any outside touch. Just hiding for some minutes from the truth. But minutes nonetheless that he needed.
She was here. He was here. Both alive.
And together again.
Fate was cruel in it's unusual style. It brought her to him for her to run and for him to hide. What was going on around here. Or anywhere else. Cowardice would always be your deepest friend and enemy.
Facing her again was not an easy step. He would allow that to make for his closeness. How would it all change now? She was alive and at his grip. He could easily reach out toward her and have her in his arms again.
Had anything changed at all? He wondered as he walked uncertainly toward one of the chairs of the room. Right before him was a light desk that had just enough space for a stack of papers. Instead of papers, his cards were scattered through.
He hadn't been able to coincide with sleep soon enough after his return to his rooms the night before. Now he knew why the vision had affected him so much.
His guest from the past had arrived.
Now, he knew what he needed. No, what he had to do.
But how to handle it?
* * *
"Are you ready to return yet?" Relena asked as she watched Midii pull herself together.
"Not just yet." Midii replied as she passed her hand by her eyes. Black mascara smeared her fingers, making her groan. She was sure that her make up was running down her face. What a pretty picture must she make.
"Don't worry about it," Relena commented as she heard her groan. "It's no real matter."
Turning her head, Midii stood up. She needed to show herself through this. She couldn't turn her head when it was time for her to take charge of her own situation. She had thought too much to this opportunity to right her wrongs than just give it up because of her sentiments.
She wouldn't run away from him this time. She should have ran after him when he left her ten years before. She was not going to let him think that she wasn't repentant of all that she had done to him or had done in her life.
She needed to show him.
"It's my time to search him out," the emphasis on him was stressed.
"That's good," Relena lead her toward the stone path that led them straight toward the house. It was just time to go back and confront her dream.
A walk down the circled path was enough time for them to pull their thoughts together. Relena had to think of a way to make sure that all would go smooth on their colony trip with this new piece of information. And Midii needed to think of a way to even get the words out of her mouth before she would freeze to his gaze.
He was not going to succeed on breaking her resolve. She had to be strong enough to even walk another step.
"Please don't," a voice disrupted their silent walk back toward the mansion. "Not up there."
Both girls turned toward their lefts and parted shrubs that obstructed their view.
Before them was an old man, who seemed to be pleading toward a tree. He had groaned as if giving up in his plea.
"How am I ever going to get you down?" He asked as he seemed to be searching for something long in his things.
"Who is that?" Midii asked her companion.
"That's one of the gardeners in here. His name is Nick," choosing the time to show herself, Midii followed her out as they parted the shrubs completely and made a beeline toward the oblivious gardener. "He's about 70 years old and has worked on the trees and flowers of this place for most of his life."
Hearing chatter behind him, the man turned around toward them as he stopped advancing toward the tree with a long branch.
"Oh," his cheeks colored as he tried to hide the stick behind his back. "Hello."
"Hi Nick," Relena smiled at the man, her amusement at finding him at such a stance present in her laughing eyes. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"Well," he blanched for a second, but gave up any excuse. Using the stick to lean in, he turned toward the tree and pointed to one of it's branches. "I seem to have a visitor residing on the tree."
Black, now yellow eyes reflected back from the darkness of the obscuring leaves. "Right after he had decided that half of my rosebuds needed a makeover."
The cat simply hissed as the man finished accusing him. It was not afraid of it.
"I'm sorry for that sir," Midii hastily apologized. "I didn't know that my cat was going to give you any trouble with the flowers."
"Not to worry about that," he sighed. "I'm just trying to get him down."
"That'd good of you," Relena said. "Not to hold a grudge with him."
"It's not that bad," and even after he said it, Midii still saw a little regret and hurt deep inside his words. He must really love his flowers then.
"Don't worry about it then," Relena masked the worry with her approval. "Let's just see how we can get that cat down."
She walked forward, her eyes strained in thinking how to get the dammed cat down. She could believe it all. He was simply sitting in his behind on the branch. Not caring for anything else but his paws as he licked them clean.
"I'm sorry," Nick apologized shamefaced to Midii, dragging her mind toward him. "I'm Nick Strausse." He smiled as he introduced himself. "I manage most of the flora around this enormous property."
"Pleased to meet you," his compelling smile drew one out of her. Although it was not easy but it flowed as strained. "I'm Midii." She kept it minimal.
"Nothing will reach him unless someone climbs up." Relena stated as she continued to watch the cat carefully. She had to study all the variables.
It simply brought a hiss from the feline and a sigh from Midii. Trying to keep the smile, she advanced toward the tree and pressed her palm toward the trunk. Examining each detail, she tested the branches. Strong and forceful. Choosing one with strait leaves and far away, enough to not really show the closeness.
And like a cat, she leaped.
It was such a surprise for the other two people that they simply stared. But she hadn't just leaped. She had held the deep branch, held and strained. Gripping with both hands, she elevated and with such practiced agility, she used the impulse to accelerate and there it happened. A second later, she was perfectly balanced on one of the branches that supported her.
She could still do it.
In a calm manner, she approached the cat and in a subtle move sat beside it. In the ground Relena bid farewell to the gardener. He looked back once and disappeared. They were alone once again.
Midii reached for her friend who completely let her handle him. She seemed to possess his complete trust. That would be good in some spheres. "How did he come out?"
"A maid must have let the windows open or something." Relena shivered at the brisk breeze. It seemed to remind her of the time of the year. She knew that neither of them were wearing any protective clothes against the cold. And Midii seemed to be unaware of it.
"Let's take him back," Relena brought up as the black demon tried to shot out of his captors hands.
Keeping him in a firm grasp, she swung down with one arm and landed trembling on her feet. It wasn't one thing that really got perfected. Plus, she was remembering deep in the night as she fell from the branch toward Relena's balcony. It wasn't a memory that really brought comfort.
She fuddled lightly with the collar. Noticing that part of the material had claws imprints and bitten out. It was ruined by the enormous cut across that she was sure came from one of the sharp branches. It became also clear that the cat was prickled.
She was now sure that he had been playing at the rose's bushes. He kept on licking parts of his body in which she knew were peaks of blood. Seeing his discomfort with the collar, she pressed the release, it splitting at a side falling down toward the ground.
Relena picked it up, giving hardly notice to the whirls she felt in her hands.
They neared the house, and Heero's shadow only followed them in to lead Relena toward the kitchen and Midii toward the other side.
Ten long, hard years. And a single second to realize her fears and excitement.
It was time.
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Too much time to write a damn chapter, but that's how things go. I really hope the next one will not cause so much trouble to write.
We apologize for the delay.
MS