Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Hating a Phoenix ❯ Chapter 13.0 ( Chapter 13 )

Hating a Phoenix

Chapter 13

By: Firey Angelwings

 

 

***Hey everyone! I'm glad that I'm finally back in some sort of a routine now. Guess what? We're finally nearing the end of this story, with plans for the sequel well underway. Aren't you glad that we're finally getting somewhere?

 

 

  The large hangar on Mars was filled with activity as the last mobile suits touched down into their designated areas. If one looked closely, one could make out the forms of the various pilots as they emerged from their cockpits.

 

  On the ground, the individuals who hadn't left were gathered, waiting for their friends. Off near the doors, a heated conversation was going on between Milliardo and Lucrezia,

Both of whom were extremely concerned about a certain female's well being.

 

  “All these secrets! And to think there was a time when she told me everything!” Relena's brother clutched at his hair in undisguised concern.

 

  Noin looked sympathetic to his current state and did her absolute best to soothe his nerves. “I'm sure she's fine. Lena is a smart girl. She wouldn't go anywhere unsafe without some backup. You know it. I know it.”

 

  He shook his head violently, tipping his head up to stare at the high ceiling. “When she's fraught with rampant emotion, Relena is the last thing from rational.”

 

  Looking seemingly shocked, Lucrezia softly inquired, “Do you really think that about your sister? Zechs, she used to be a diplomat. Thinking things through is her specialty. And what would make you think that Relena is `fraught with emotion'?”

 

  Silent, Milliardo ignored her last question and watched the pilots all head for the door. After a moment, he turned to Noin and answered bluntly, “I have my reasons. And as the older brother, I have a right to be as concerned as I am at the moment, so don't try to deny me of it.”

 

  As she approached the talking couple, Hilde caught the last of his sentence. She smiled to herself, knowing immediately what subject they were conversing on. Stopping before them, the shorthaired woman declared, “Leave Lena be. She's fine. I think everybody needs to give her a little space. Her whole life, she's been overprotected.”

 

  As Milliardo started to protest, Hilde held up a finger to silence him. She continued, “Relena wants, no—needs to experience thing on her own a bit. Let her do her thang. That way she'll be able to grow up into herself.”

 

  Finished, she grinned. From behind, one Duo Maxwell rolled his eyes at her statement and brushed past her roughly. From under a barely disguised cough, he muttered, “Know-it-all.”

 

  Hilde noticed his mild insult and turned her fierce gaze to glare at him. They held each other's stares for a moment before Duo slunk off.

 

  Had he been in a less worried state, Milliardo would have picked up on the dense tension between the couple. However, at the moment he was occupied on trying his best to locate his missing sister. He fixed his eyes on the last pilot to leave the hangar.

 

  Heero was slowly ambling his way to the door, not waiting for anybody in particular. He was the picture of a man without a care in the world. As he passed Relena's blue-eyed sibling, he was quickly interrogated.

 

  “Yuy. Where is Relena?”

 

 Stopping leisurely, Heero gradually met Milliardo hard glance with one of his own. He drawled, “No idea.”

 

  With an exaggerated eyebrow raised, Zechs stated skeptically, “Oh really? Then why is it that I don't believe you?”

 

  Though he had absolutely no idea where Relena had gone, Heero was inwardly relishing Milliardo's unease. He wasn't about to give a straight answer. “Look, don't harass me. It's annoying. And as for Relena…just let her do what she wants. You obviously keep her like a caged bird, and maybe she's revolting. I'd applaud her. She needs to be treated like a normal person.”

 

  Pushing past the insanely-concerned-big-brother barrier, Heero lazily headed down the halls, with no proper destination.

 

 

  Though she was completely taken aback and her emotions were beginning to spill over her wall of sentimental steel, it never crossed onto Relena's features.

 

  Dr J flipped through the clipboard that he had retrieved from another room. He began talking again after a minute's silence. “This disease. I suppose…you'll want the details?”

 

  He looked up to stare at her. He couldn't read anything from her expressions, so the doctor took it for a `yes'. He started, “Most people recognize it by name. That would be Lazuria, the Latin name being Lazurius Arconigus.”

 

  Out of the corner of his eyes and magnified glasses, Dr J noticed a slight stiffening in Relena's body at the mention of the name of the syndrome.

 

  “It was discovered about 100 years ago, give or take a few years. The malady centers in the lumbar area of the spinal cord. In he most basic form, it causes fast deterioration of the nerves that are infected. This causes very painful migraines and violent seizures. If untreated, the seizures become bad enough to cause a deep coma. Eventually, the deterioration of the spinal cord ends in death.”

 

  Relena nodded with difficulty. Dr J scratched his head and added uneasily, “Problem is…there isn't a treatment for Lazuria yet. It is a very rare disease and it isn't given top priority in research labs.”

 

  Her eyes narrowed as Relena took this in. She finally raised her eyes to his. She could make out his eyes from behind his lenses. Uncomfortable, Dr J assured quickly, “But this proves to be very interesting. I'll do my best to find a solution; it'll give me something worthwhile to do. This has been a slow year. And finding the cure to Lazuria would look good on my resume.”

 

  Hopping off the gurney upon which she sat, Relena picked up her coat and put it on slowly. As she did, she inquired casually, “How long `til the coma?”

 

  Backing up to give her space, he answered, “It's hard to tell. Could be a matter of days. But…” Dr J picked up a small bag that he had left unattended until now. “I've put together a supply of meds to slow the corrosion. To give a little more time.”

 

  He handed the bag to an expressionless Relena. “Take one every time you feel the slightest tremors of a seizure or migraine…or anything along those lines.”

 

  Nodding, Relena murmured a barely audible thanks and slipped out the door.

 

 

  Patiently, Hilde leaned against a titanium wall of the still and empty hangar. In her hands was a small black notebook; her diary. She flipped through the pages, skimming their contents.

 

  Every once in a while, she would let out a snort of disbelief or disgust, most often when she came to a passage about a certain braided Gundam pilot. Other times, she would wipe away a tear at the emotional parts, centering around the supposed death of Relena Peacecraft and other times as well.

 

  She was waiting for that undead Relena Artemis Peacecraft. Hilde was absolutely certain that she'd be returning soon, as it wasn't like her best friend to make a promise to give some advice in the near future and to not honor that promise.

 

  Nonetheless, she was still having a blast reading her `memoirs'. At one point she rolled her eyes in pure repugnance of the words on the page and threw the notebook to the ground. After seething for a few moments, Hilde sighed and picked it up again, slowly rereading the passage.

 

I'm so weak. As of tomorrow, Duo is going to move into my apartment for an undetermined length of time. I can't believe that I allowed myself to be persuaded by that silly braided idiot! What happened to my strength? God, think of the odd times that will result from this. But you know, Duo did that adorable pout face and I just couldn't resist because he looked so extremely cute, almost like a lost puppy…

 

  Quickly closing the book, Hilde mentally chastised herself for being (and sounding) so absolutely pathetic. Imagine what, say…Wufei would think if he accidentally read this! Imagine the utter revulsion he would have for her! Such weakness…

 

  Hilde was chased out of her own thoughts as a loud roaring sound was emitted from the distance. She stood and stared at the opening area of the roof, smiling to herself. The sound got louder, but not unbearably so. In a few moments, out of the darkness of the sky came the Viore mobile suit, quickly crashing down into the hangar. In true Relena style, it stopped just a few meters from the ground and softly touched down.

 

  As Hilde ran up to it, she could hear the sounds of its systems shutting down. Just as she reached the foot of the suit, the door to the cockpit flew open and the lean form of her friend jumped out, landing gracefully on the floor.

 

  Laughing, Hilde embraced her friend. Relena was surprised, as she hadn't noticed Hilde's presence, but she was quick to return the gesture. As they broke apart, Relena's inner turmoil was perfectly masked by her joyful expression. “Hey Hilde! That's really sweet of you to wait for me here. You really didn't have to.”

 

  Rolling her eyes again hilariously, she answered, “Don't even go there, Lena. Besides, we have an appointment.”

 

  For a moment, Relena went blank, but then her memory came flooding back to her. “Of course! You have problems. I will solve them. Talk away, girlfriend!” She did a funky little dance to prove her excitement.

 

  Looking at her best friend like she'd sprouted horns, Hilde sighed and began chattering as they walked out the exit. “So…Duo is a jerk.”

 

  Relena stopped and stared at her. “You just realized this now? You're slower then I thought. All the Gundam pilots are. I think it must have something to do with their suits.”

 

  Hilde playfully slapped her on the shoulder and stated, “Seriously now. Duo is a big jerk. I can't believe I've spent so much of my time occupied with him.”

 

  Finally a bit interested, Relena inquired, “What did he do this time?”

 

  She was thoughtful for a moment, but then Hilde spewed out her definite answer. “It wasn't a specific event. It's just…he and I keep arguing on certain subjects. We have completely different perspectives on everything. And every time we argue, he always gets really insensitive and hurts my feelings.”

 

  Taking this all in, Relena pondered the predicament as they wandered aimlessly down the halls. She scratched her chin softly, and then answered equally as softly, “True, Duo can be a loud and abrasive person. It's his personality. And he doesn't notice it. I think he's got to be told to shut up sometimes. But you know…”

 

  Stopping suddenly, she turned to Hilde and put her hand on her shoulder. “The fault isn't completely his. I know that you don't want to hear that, but it's true. Feelings are all fine and well, but sometimes you take simple conversation WAY too seriously, Hil-Bil. You need to be a little bit shielded. Don't stay so open and trusting. And most of all…”

 

  Pausing for effect, Relena took a deep breath. “Don't let the little squirt get to you! He's such a worthless person to get worked up over! Think of more important things! God, girl, we're fighting a war here! Think about that instead! Maybe we'll actually get something done that way!”

 

  Hilde looked dumbfounded for a few seconds, until she burst out laughing. She covered her mouth, finding Relena so very comical. She nodded through her laughs, squeezing out, “You're…so right. God…I'm…a dork.”

 

  Smiling, Relena leaned down to her level and answered, “Yes, indeed. But we all love your inner dork, Hilde. Embrace it.”

 

  She started heading towards the elevator when Hilde lightheartedly shot a particular finger in her direction. The doors to the lift opened and Relena held her arms up, as if to receive some sort of a miracle. Then she shouted out, “Oh dear, brother. How are you, darling? Have you been waiting long?”

 

 

  “So Heero, do you think that you could estimate how many troops the Purifiers have left? I wanna be able to plan my vacation to Hawaii.”

 

  With an eyebrow raised, Heero turned away and typed a few commands into his laptop. As he went through the stats that appeared on the screen, he answered, “I don't have enough data to be able to make an educated guess. However, you can be relatively sure that they are saving up for some sort of a big attack. Unless, that is, they don't have any strategy at all.”

 

  Duo bounded up beside the concentrating man. `What makes you think they're conserving troops?”

 

  Rolling his eyes, Heero flicked his gaze to the side for a second before reverting back to the screen. “They must know by now that their tactics of using limited numbers on the colonies isn't working with us around. Their next idea SHOULD be going with the old saying `Strength in numbers'.”

 

  Nodding, Duo straightened himself and started pacing. His thoughts turned to other matters as his views turned to the issue of Hilde. He really had been thinking of her far too much.

 

  Muttering under his breath, Duo asked himself, “When is Lena gonna get back? I hate waiting…”

 

  Catching Duo's words, Heero carelessly inquired, “What do you want with Relena?”

 

  Noting the fact that Heero had bothered to actually asked something, Duo provided an answer. “Problems with Hilde. Gotta ask the Advice-Queen, so I've got an appointment booked.”

 

  Heero reverted to his regular silent state, typing away.

 

  Staring at his back, Duo pondered if he should pursue the subject any further. Just as he was about to question why Heero had asked, Milliardo strolled in. He appeared considerably less stressed then he had half an hour ago.

 

  After he whirled to face the older man, Duo burst out, “Do you have any idea when Lena'll be back?”

 

  Milliardo regarded Duo for a second, as if sizing him up. He then offered, “Yeah. About twenty minutes ago.”

 

  Looking relieved, Duo began to ask for he location. Milliardo answered before he could speak. “She's in the kitchen, making lunch.”

 

  Speeding from the room, Duo was gone before the blink of an eye. Silence fell on the room, a silence so still that you could here a paperclip drop to the floor. Heero made no effort to acknowledge Milliardo's presence.

 

  After a few quiet minutes, the longhaired man stared at the wall and spoke. “Relena's been acting quite odd after you brought her back.”

 

  It seemed as though Heero hadn't even heard him say a word, but Milliardo knew better. He rolled his head towards the younger man's direction. “You wouldn't know anything about why that may be, would you?”

 

  Once more, the Gundam pilot did not volunteer any information. His fingers stilled for a number of seconds over the keys as undeterminable thoughts ran through the soldier's brain. But he returned to his previous state of typing mindlessly, ignoring the other individual in the room.

 

  Sighing, Milliardo nodded to himself. This reaction was what he had expected from the Perfect Soldier. He slowly stood and left the room.

 

 

  “—And we're always arguing! Most of the time I don't even know why, I'm just filled with a need to talk back. Sometimes she's just got that haughty and arrogant feel when she talks and it drives me CRAZY!! I just wanna…put her in her place, y'know?”

 

  Relena did her best to look understanding. Duo had been chattering at her side for about ten minutes as she sliced up vegetables and began to sauté some chicken. He just kept going on and on about the same point, so she had guiltily started tuning out the sound of Duo's voice.

 

  Suddenly, she noticed that he had stopped talking.

 

`You're supposed to say something now, genius.' Her mind blared at her. Her body came back to life and Relena stumbled over her response.

 

  “Uh…I guess I understand…sort of. You think that Hilde is…wait a minute…ARROGANT?”

 

  Dropping the knife she was holding, Relena looked up and turned to Duo. “How the hell could you think that, Maxwell? That is what I don't understand.”

 

  Squinting his eyes, Duo tried to put his odd form of logic to words. “I…she just looks this way. I get a vibe. I'm a very…vibe-sensitive person.”

 

  Rolling her eyes, Relena picked up the dropped knife and began to rinse it in the sink. “Bullshit, Duo. Either you are a complete idiot or else you can't interpret people to save your life. Personally, I think it's both.”

 

  He seemed to be mildly offended, but Relena paid no heed. She dried the knife and began slicing up an expensive baguette imported from France. “Hilde is the last person to give off an arrogant vibe. You are probably mistaking arrogance for plain old opinions. You just don't like the fact that you are attracted to her AND she has different views on certain issues then you do.”

 

  Duo started to say something but no sound came out. He tried to work out what she was saying in his head. “I don't?”

 

  Piling the bread slices into a basket, Relena shook her silver head. “You don't. You know that old saying `Opposites attract'? You and Hilde are perfect representations of that.”

 

  Scratching the base of his braid, Duo finally questioned, “So what should I do?”

 

  Relena stopped her activity and faced him again. “First off, you've got to stop arguing with her. God, Duo, you can be SO obnoxious at certain times, and Hilde picks up on things like that very easily. You need to try to see things from her point of view. You might even learn something.”

 

  Nodding, Duo gestured for her to continue. She did. “But to rectify the mess you've made at the moment, you're probably going to have to do something BIG and NICE.”

 

  He frowned. “Like what?”

 

  Relena was about to answer, but suddenly she stopped and went a bit pale. She dropped the knife again as a panicked expression crossed on her face.

 

  Worried, Duo rushed forward. Very quickly, Relena reached in her back pocket and pulled out a few pills. Duo became very concerned, multiple possibilities rushing through his head. Before he could do anything, she swallowed the pills and breathed deeply.

 

  Ever slowly, Relena straightened herself. The regular smile returned to her face and she picked up the knife once more. Duo was about to ask if she was all right before she cut him off. “I can't tell you all the answers, Maxwell. You need to figure out what you should do exactly for yourself. Make it come straight from the heart.”

 

  She paused, thinking. “Go, go! Out of my kitchen!” She waved a nearby pan impishly in his direction. “Make sure that you tell the others that lunch is in twenty minutes!”

 

 

  Duo was quite puzzled as he wandered down the numerous halls, informing everyone of their lunchtime. He went over the events in the kitchen with Relena in his mind. He was a bit concerned for her health, thinking about how she might be affected by those mysterious pills…

 

  “Maxwell.”

 

  He whirled and encountered Wufei, who appeared rather curious. “What?”

 

  Wufei walked up beside him and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. “What is it that has you so deep in thought? I can tell, especially with you because you are never `in thought'.”

 

  Irritated, Duo shrugged and answered, “Nothing.”

 

  Becoming suddenly persistent, Wufei demanded, “What? Perhaps there is something that I can do about it.”

 

  Duo pondered for a few minutes, staring at the floor. Wufei was ever patient, watching the confused emotions cross over Maxwell's face. After he decided how to go about it, Duo started, “It's Relena.”

 

  Nodding, Wufei said nothing. “I'm worried about her.”

 

  Slowly coaxing Duo to talk, the pilot of Nataku prompted, “Because…”

 

  Throwing his head back in resignation, Duo declared, “Because I think that she may…she may…have an addiction problem.”

 

  The expression on Wufei's features changed. He was suddenly concerned. “What? Addicted to what? How do you know this?”

 

  Duo took a breath. “I was talking to her in the kitchen before. Everything was fine, but at some random time, she looked really freaked and took a bunch of pills that I didn't see very well out of her pocket and swallowed them. Then she acted like nothing happened.”

 

  With his eyes finally open, Wufei absorbed this. He questioned, “What do you want to do about it?”

 

  Looking uncertain, Duo rubbed his temples with two fingers. “I was going to ask her but she cut me off. But…I think…I'll ask her at lunch.”

 

  Nodding, Wufei righted himself. “Sounds good. Confront her at lunch. And don't be weak and back down. I'll back you up.”

 

 

  “Lena, you need to cook more often! This chicken is amazing!” Catherine's praises rang in her ears and Relena bowed her head modestly. A slight pink tinge colored her cheeks for a few moments.

 

  Smiling brightly, Quatre finished his mouthful and added, “Yes, it is very good. But Relena, you shouldn't stress yourself to cook for us all. You have cooks for that.”

 

  Leaning towards them, Milliardo piped in, “It is the cook's day off, though. And I wouldn't put that idea in her head Quatre. She might make the rest of us make the meal.”

 

  Relena opened her mouth in mock horror and reached across the table to punch her brother's shoulder. The area of the table broke into mild laughter as they resumed eating.

 

  At the other end of the long, rectangular table, Duo and Wufei were conversing loudly about a special they had seen on television.

 

  “But it really makes you think, Wufei. I mean, I didn't know that there was such a huge drug problem in the colonies as well. It seemed like such a thing of the old twenty-first century.”

 

  Wufei nodded, adding, “True. But I suppose that shows how little we know about the streets.”

 

  After eating a bit of his salad, Duo continued, “But it's not even the streets now. Normal people, soldiers like us, even CELEBRITIES are on something these days.”

 

  Speaking softly, Trowa said, “I guess that explains your erratic behavior, Duo.”

 

  Looking shocked, Duo put a hand over his mouth and pretended to faint. He sat up normally and resumed talking. “But, what I would like to know is the official figures from the ex-diplomat at the end of the table.”

 

  Their gaze swung over to Relena, who put down her fork. She closed her eyes in thought, and then answered, “I really don't recall the actual percentages, but I do know that they were alarmingly high.”

 

  Wufei nodded, as if taking this in. He continued with his and Duo's carefully orchestrated plan. “Well then, if you don't remember the facts, then what is your opinion on rug addictions, Relena?”

 

  She bit her lip and took a sip of her water. “The end result is always the same. Whatever drug it may be, negative reactions are the finish. The only answer is to make the decision to get help. And it doesn't even have to be through an official clinic. Friends do the most healing, in my own opinion.”

 

  The whole table nodded in agreement. Duo caught Wufei's glance and took a deep breath, getting ready to drop the bomb. “If that is so, then what was going on this morning?”

 

  Relena looked mildly perplexed. “What do you mean?”

 

  Duo elaborated, “I mean, when you suddenly got all freaked for no reason and swallowed a lot of pills.”

 

  There was collective intake of breath. Everyone's heads shot in Relena's direction. It was plainly visible that the blood was draining from her face as her skin became very pale.

 

  When she said nothing except looking speechless, Wufei questioned harshly, “Can you tell us what is going on, Relena?”

 

  Her complete and utter surprise was suddenly replaced with a scalding and furious anger. Relena shut her eyes as if to block them all out, but she opened then just as quickly. The scarlet color of her orbs was blazing.

 

  She took a deep and serious breath and spoke in a low and deathly voice. “Do you want to know the truth?”

 

  All of the heads at the table nodded expectantly. She stood. “The truth. The truth is that this morning I found out that I have a disease called…Lazuria.”

 

  The color left the faces of everyone in the room. In Duo's mind he screamed, `What have I done, what have I done…'. She continued in a shaky voice, but the anger was starting to show vocally. “Are you happy now? There is the damn truth, pure and straight.”

 

  Now her voice embodied her full fury. “I am so sick of this. You are supposed to be my friends, but it seems that nobody can respect a little thing named `privacy'.”

 

  She threw up her hands. “I can NEVER escape this, can I? Damn it, you guys always need to know absolutely EVERY aspect of my life. It happened when I was a politician, and now when I try to leave that behind, it follows me to my new life. Don't you have any sense of decency? I haven't even accepted what is happening to me before SOMEBODY forces it out of me. You make me sick.”

 

  Heading for the door, she stopped. “If you ever walked a mile in my shoes, I can be certain in thinking that you'd never consider trying it again. Why can't you just…give me some…space rather then invading…I…”

 

  Milliardo stood up with the evident need to go to her. Without turning, Relena shouted, “Don't you DARE come over here and tell me that you understand, Milliardo. For God's sake, you are dead to the rest of the world. I will hurt you if you follow me.”

 

  She left the room as her brother dropped back into his chair. For a few minutes, the room remained in complete silence as they all inwardly yelled at themselves for being so insensitive.

 

  Finally, Heero stood. A few of them looked up and watched as he left the room in the same direction that Relena had.

 

 

  She sensed him enter the training room, but she wasn't in the mood for verbal sparring. Relena kept on hitting the pathetic punching bag furiously. She was intent on burning her rage on the poor bag, but it wasn't working too well.

 

  After five minutes, Heero eventually walked slowly into the room. Subconsciously, the soldier in him noted her good technique on punches, but he paid no attention to it. Quietly, he said, “Relena.”

 

  She didn't stop her furious beating, but did have enough focus to command, “Get lost.”

 

  Heero's already stern face hardened even more. His voice was fierce and ice-cold. “Don't order me to do anything. You may be powerful, but I know that I'm still stronger then you.”

 

  This wasn't what Relena wanted to hear. She groaned softly and delivered a potent kick to the miserable punching bag. The force behind the blow ripping the bag from its anchor in the ceiling and it went flying across the room.

 

  For a while Relena simply stood there and stared at the fallen bag. Her mind went blissfully blank and then turned to brighter thoughts.

 

  Heero had no trouble with patience. He understood the necessity of it better then anyone. Eventually, he questioned, “Relena. What are you thinking?”

 

  She didn't know what to say at first, but the fact that he was asking her such a seemingly personal question soothed her invisible wounds. She was careful with her soft, barely audible answer. “I'm thinking…about how it feels to be flying…on a clear sky.”

 

  Knowing the calming effect those thoughts were having on her, Heero slowly asked, “Does that make you feel recovered?”

 

  Relena turned to him and examined his stance. If you couldn't hear his words, one would think he was just being Heero Yuy, as his face and body posture told nothing out of the ordinary. It was the questions and his voice that were different.

 

  Her forehead wrinkled as she answered, “Yes. Yes it does.”

 

  Slowly, Relena headed for the door. As she passed his unmoving form, she stopped and studied his face. Without thinking, she traced a light finger over his cheek before quickly removing it. She tilted her head up and briefly kissed him on the corner of his mouth, almost not touching the skin; it was so light a kiss.

 

  She passed him and as she did, Relena turned her head and whispered, “Thank you. I just…need to think.”

 

 

  “She isn't angry?”

 

  Heero looked as stony as normal, but he answered for a change. “She was. She was furious. But not anymore.”

 

  Somehow, Milliardo and Heero ended up standing outside the mansion, barely talking at all. Relena's brother was quite stunned. “What did you say to her, Heero?”

 

  He was evidently quite interested, as Milliardo never used Heero's first name when acknowledging him. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to give away the exchange he had with Relena.

 

  Finally, Heero answered, “Ask her yourself.”

 

  Sighing seemed to be Milliardo's most frequent action; he did it again. The two were silent. Neither could guess the thoughts that were running through each other's minds.

 

  The silence was broken when the French doors to Relena's chambers opened and the woman herself stepped out. Both of them watched as she watched the sky for a few seconds, and then sprouted her ephemeral wings that contrasted beautifully with the blackness of the sky. She rocked on the balls of her bare feet for a moment before gracefully vaulting over the railing and flying away from the mansion, her destination unknown.

 

  Milliardo watched her flight away from her home sadly, not knowing what must be going through his dear sister's head. She really didn't deserve to be going through these hardships.

 

  He asked quietly, “What made you so close to her, Yuy?”

 

  As expected, Heero didn't answer. However, this time he couldn't have answered because he didn't know the truth himself. Heero asked himself the same question.

 

  Scanning his face, Milliardo came upon an epiphany. He looked taken aback, not knowing what was going on. “You really do…care about her.”

 

  Like steel doors shutting closed, Heero suddenly put his mask up. His face was hard as he turned to his previous enemy. “Don't interrogate me. On this subject, or any other. I'm not a book for you to read and you won't get your answers from me.”

 

  He turned and left as he always did: exuding and air of extreme power.

 

 

***Hey y'all! Happy New Year!

Aren't you happy that we're finally getting to the good stuff with this story? And I'm telling you now; the next chapter is THE CHAPTER. Interpret that the way you want, but you won't want to miss chapter 14. Trust me. *Rubs hands together devilishly* Chapter 14. Stay tuned.

 

Ready to strike with the power of God's own thunder (if you don't join the mailing list on my site, lol)

 

Angelwings