Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Hello ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

CHAPTER THREE

 

There was an email from Commander Une waiting for me when I got back to my desk. She noted that I had already worked fifty-two hours this week, and that I should leave and go home until Friday. She instructed that I come into the office on Friday only to report on my attempts at non-work activities.

 

I sat and glared at the email on my screen before grunting and shutting the computer down. Had Une not ordered me to go home, I would have stayed at the office and pled ignorance as to the number of hours I had already worked this week.

 

On the way home, I came to a decision. I will treat this just like any other mission. A mission to find things to do outside of work. A mission that I apparently have no choice about undertaking.

 

Once home, I retrieved my laptop to work on my mission planning.

 

I decided to make two lists: a list of hobbies or activities and a list of interests. As I made my lists, I refused to edit myself. If an item occurred to me, I typed it out. After I made the two lists, I went down each and crossed through activities that I simply could not see myself doing. I made notes as to why I crossed off each item, as I thought such information might be useful in the future. In the end, my lists looked like this:

 

Hobbies/Activities

 

Tennis - too snobby

Soccer - requires multiple other people to play effectively

Basketball

Weight Training

Swimming - requires swimming pool or other body of water

Baseball - requires multiple other people to play effectively

Football - too much armor/ requires multiple other people to play effectively

Rugby - would require research/ requires multiple other people to play effectively

Marksmanship

Kendo

Karate

Tai Chi

Bowling

Reading

Vid Programs - too little mental activity

Video Games

Chess

Go

Origami

Meditation

Volunteering

Dancing

Clubbing - too much vapid socializing

Traveling

Photography

Writing

 

Interests

 

Astro-Physics - know more than anyone could reasonably teach me

Colony History - Doctor J forced me to learn as part of training

Pre-Colony History

Foreign Languages

Music

Art

 

My two lists completed, I then set about further sorting the lists. Specifically, out of the remaining activities, I examined which activities could be pursued without interacting with other people. I reasoned that all of the interests could be pursued on my own with the use of the vast online ESUN library. The activities that I deemed to be acceptable for solitary practice were: Weight Training, Marksmanship, Tai Chi, Bowling, Reading, Video Games, Origami, Meditation, Traveling, Photography, and Writing. These, then, were the activities that I chose to start with first.

 

Rather than starting slowly, I decided to load my schedule with as many activities as I deemed feasible. Thus, I decided to do one hour of weight training and one hour of marksmanship each day. Both of those activities could be accomplished at the Preventers training facility. I could only hope that Une did not view the facility as part of work.

 

I downloaded videos and texts from the ESUN library regarding Tai Chi, bowling, and origami. I decided that once I felt comfortable with the video instructions, I would add an hour of each of these activities to my daily schedule. Any remaining free time would be spent reading.

 

Given the number of interests and activities that I had come up with, I outlined parameters for mission component success. I would continue with an activity only if I felt that it provided sufficient mental stimulation or provided a demonstrable benefit to my work as a Preventer. The determination as to whether an activity is sufficiently stimulating could only be made after at least two days of attempting the designated activity. I judged this time frame to be perfect for my current circumstances, as I was due to meet with Une for a status update in two days.

 

* * *

 

By Friday morning, I had tried Tai Chi, bowling, and origami. I found that I greatly enjoyed Tai Chi and was willing to continue with it. I eliminated bowling after my first trip to a bowling alley. The location was simply too unsecured, with too many distractions and too much open space. I would never be comfortable with such an activity. The origami I initially enjoyed a fair amount, although the paper was difficult to manipulate with my broken fingers. I even went to a specialty store to order paper designed for use in origami. However, after I finished my one hundred and thirty-sixth paper crane, I decided that origami was not mentally stimulating enough for regular daily activity, but was better suited to an hour or two each week. Having ruled out bowling and origami as candidates for spending most of my time, I decided to move on to video games and meditation.

 

I was pleased to note that I had not yet snapped and gone on a murderous rampage. In fact, other than a vague sense of boredom and unease, I noted no ill effects from my time away from work. Perhaps my fears were unfounded.

 

Thus armed with information, I went to meet Commander Une.

 

* * *

 

When I arrived at Une's office, she was sitting in her chair as usual. This time, she wasn't shuffling the papers in front of her. Instead she was gazing out the only window in her office. She looked up as I entered and gestured to the seats across from her. With a sigh, I sat down.

 

“So, Heero, how have things been during your time off?”

 

I gazed stonily at my chosen point to the right of Une's head. “Acceptable.”

 

“Ah. I am glad that things are… `acceptable.' What have you been doing to occupy your time?”

 

In response, I told Une about the marksmanship, weight training, Tai Chi, and origami, as well as my failed attempt at bowling. I fervently hoped that she deemed all of this sufficient and sent me back to work my normal hours.

 

Instead, Une frowned, and that line appeared on her forehead again. “Agent Yuy, I assume you have read the Preventer's Personnel Policy Manual?”

 

I frowned in response. “I have made myself aware of the relevant provisions contained therein, yes.”

 

“Well, agent, you must have missed some sections during your reading.” So saying, Une stood up and retrieved a copy of the manual from behind her. I waited silently as she thumbed through it. “Ah! Here it is. Section 1.046.983: What constitutes billable Preventers work.” She handed me the opened book and pointed to the section. “Read it, Agent Yuy.”

 

I quickly read the passage.

 

“Do you understand why I pointed that passage out to you?”

 

I glared hard at my chosen spot near Une's head. When I didn't respond, Une said, almost gently, “Heero, working out and practicing with guns explicitly counts as time at work. I'm afraid your time spent weight training and practicing marksmanship will count toward your forty-five hours of permissible work each week. However, I will allow you to continue Tai Chi without counting it as time at work.”

 

“Understood. May I leave now?”

 

“In a moment.” When I glanced at Une, I found that she was once again staring out of her office window. Perhaps she had given up on maintaining eye contact with me while we spoke. “Heero, what I want you to do is find passion outside of work. Something to ground you. What if you were permanently disabled during a mission? What would you do with the rest of your life?” Une turned back to face me and our eyes met as she spoke. “I realize this is frustrating to you. I promise you, though. Find other things to live and breathe for, and you will be a better agent as a result. You will have something real and tangible to fight for. That is why I recommend that you focus on more intellectual pursuits. Any questions?”

 

When I said nothing, Une nodded. “You are dismissed then. Have a good weekend.”

 

I stood and left Une's office. I no longer had even the hope that she would let me return to working the hours of my choice.

 

 

 

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and to everyone who has added “Hello” to their fanfic alerts! I hope it stays interesting for everyone.