Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Remember the Name ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Warning: Language, shonen-ai, yaoi, supernaturalness, maybe some OOc-ness (it's impossible to avoid since I'm not the creator of GW).

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters. I just use them like actors in a movie and I claim no rights at all to them.

Summary: AU, 1x3, one-sided 2x5 (there's a reason why 2 is in front), 1 and 2-centric. Heero meets Trowa Barton for an interview at his company and is later attacked going home by a werewolf. Heero must cope with his own transformation, and it quickly becomes apparent that other employees are having problems of their own…

Author's Note: Something new! This will have a little supernatural feel to it, but hopefully it'll flow pretty smoothly. And the main characters are all aged twenty or older, so there. I got this general idea from a trilogy I read, the author's name I don't remember. I borrowed the title from Fort Minor's song of the same name; I love that song! Leave me your opinions and thoughts; it takes less time to leave a review than you think! Thank you. Oh, and I'm debating whether or not to put 2x5 together at the end. What do you think?

And guess what? Full moon tonight, the 31st! That's why I waited to post.

Remember the Name

By: Mitsuru Aki

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Chapter One: Full Moon

XXX

The green-eyed man sitting across from him watched him silently. His gaze was distant and stoic, but that didn't unnerve Heero at all. It rather reminded him of himself.

Trowa Barton.

Currently the most powerful person in Ryojou, he was not someone to be trifled with. As the President and CEO of the Homeland Intelligence and Security Agency, no one disputed that he, not the local government, was in charge. Despite the sound of his company's name, it was not part of the government. Often, it worked in conjecture with city authorities, but HISA was privately owned and operated. It worked on its own funds, and its employees worked there for life. Once you were hired, there was no backing out.

There had been stories, several years ago, of employees who just packed up and left with no warning at all; just vanished during the night.

The man was dead within thirty-six hours. Newspapers from a town two hundred miles away reported the murder with blaring headlines.

Rumor had it that Trowa Barton himself tracked down his wayward cryptologist and disposed of him. There was no actual evidence of this, however. The death was eventually filed as an “accidental suicide”.

Even so, no rumors were going to stop one Heero Yuy from applying for a job at the most coveted company in the job market. But none of the rumors had stated how…well…young he was.

The interview was simply held at an outdoor café, late in the evening. If it was strange to see four men wearing suits, two sitting and two standing, at a small table and not helping the café's business at all, no one said anything. The café wasn't particularly busy since it was approaching seven-thirty and the moon was already starting to appear from behind a slightly cloudy sky.

Full moon tonight.

Two men in black suits and dark glasses with heavy-duty guns at their waists stood about six feet behind Trowa's chair, faces serious. One was average height, slender with blond hair. He couldn't possibly be any older than Heero himself. The other man on Trowa's left, however, dwarfed everyone else there. His skin was dark and his hair and beard even darker. He was plainly of Middle Eastern descent. The two were nearly complete opposites.

There were two snipers on nearby buildings, too. Heero Yuy didn't miss these kinds of things.

Finally, Trowa Barton spoke, steepling his fingers. “If you get this job…do you understand your term of service?”

“Yes.”

“I interview all potential employees myself, Mr. Yuy. Many of them claim to understand, but when times get stressful, there is no leaving.” His voice was soft, but there was something in it that captured your attention easily.

“I know,” Heero said calmly. “I cannot quit my job. Working other jobs under your employment is not allowed. If my work is inadequate, I will have my salary cut. But I can't be fired under any circumstances.”

Trowa raised his only visible eyebrow and folded his hands on the table. Then he nodded. “You've done your research,” he said, an interested light entering his eyes. He slid Heero's resume out of the folder next to his hands. “Your computer skills are impressive.”

Heero watched and waited, his eyes fixed on Trowa's face. Green eyes moved slowly down the page, occasionally pausing.

“I think I could use a man like you, Mr. Yuy.”

Trowa's voice snapped Heero out of his semi-out-of-it state.

Green eyes regarded Heero seriously. “Unless you have any questions or concerns, Mr. Yuy, I'm going to offer you a job. You're hired.”

Heero felt every muscle in his body relax marginally at that simple statement.

HISA's CEO and President slid four papers across the table to Heero. “Your signature, please.”

“Heero swiftly read over the forms, despite the other man's command. He wasn't going to sign his name to just anything. The Japanese man returned them to Trowa when he was finished, their fingers touching briefly.

Trowa slid the forms into Heero's folder and stood, so Heero did the same. He held out a hand to his new employee for him to shake. The blue-eyed man shook it firmly, holding Trowa's eyes.

“I apologize for rescheduling your interview so late,” Trowa said as he pushed in his chair. “I'm afraid I couldn't miss that meeting…”

Heero nodded. “It wasn't a problem.” I still got the job.

Trowa glanced at his watch. “Report to the front desk at six-thirty. I'll have someone—”

“This is ten percent luck and twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will—”

Trowa's face suddenly blanked out in annoyance.

“—five percent pleasure and fifty percent pain—”

“Please excuse me. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Yuy.” He said curtly, turning away. Heero nodded and returned his chair to its original place. He turned and made his way to the street.

“And a hundred percent reason to remember the name—”

HISA's CEO finally flicked open his phone as his bodyguards waited patiently behind him. The smaller one spoke quietly into a mouthpiece clipped to his ear.

“The ringtone.” Trowa said before the other person could utter a greeting.

The person on the other end of the line asked a short question.

“You changed it.”

Trowa tried not to roll his eyes at the response, instead watching passersby. The caller continued to talk and the CEO looked at the sky, searching for where the moon was hiding behind heavy cloud cover.

“And you're headed there now?”

An affirmative.

“You're late.” It was not a comment; it was stated as a fact.

Another long-winded excuse that Trowa decided to cut short. “Don't get caught in the open; don't go anywhere else. I'll pick you up later. Same place.” He ended the call and turned to his bodyguards. “Let's go.”

The other two men walked him to his car, not saying a word. Trowa sat between them in the backseat of the luxury vehicle created specially for HISA, or more specifically, the CEO. A nameless driver slowly pulled out into light traffic.

“What did you think of him, Quatre?”

The shortest man there removed his dark glasses to reveal startlingly blue eyes. Serious blue eyes. “In what way? I mean, he seemed like a nice enough guy…”

“HISA.”

“Oh. Well…it doesn't really matter, does it?” The blond said quietly. “He hacked into our databases. We don't have a choice.”

Trowa nodded, glancing briefly at Quatre.

Quatre was watching his hands in his lap. “If he'd gone much farther we would have had to remove him.”

“He will be useful,” Trowa agreed. He ignored the last part. It would have been such a shame to do that, even if it was true. “Do you approve?”

“I suppose.”

“And the Lican Project?”

“No.” Quatre said instantly, glaring at Trowa. “That's too dangerous for a new employee.”

“We need his hacking skills, Quatre.”

“NO.” The blond crossed his arms determinedly. “He hasn't even had his first day yet. Absolutely not.”

Trowa observed him from under his hair as they turned onto the main boulevard. Quatre stared resolutely back.

“Very well,” Trowa conceded after a moments pause. “We'll see how he does. I'll keep an eye on him.”

Quatre's face broke into a relieved smile. He sighed and slumped in his seat. “Thank you, Trowa.”

“If I may, Master Quatre?” The man on Trowa's right inquired.

“Yes, Rashid?” The blond responded, leaning forward to see past Trowa.

“I understand you wish to help him Master Barton,” Rashid began gently, placing a large hand on the brunette's shoulder, “but this is something you shouldn't rush. Right now, trust is even more important than skill.”

Quatre nodded in agreement. “We need to take this one step at a time.”

Trowa leaned his head back to stare at the roof of the car, a faint, sad smile lingering around his mouth. “Of course.”

“Trowa…” Quatre said softly, a depressed expression that can only be born of helplessness taking control of his features.

“No, you're right,” Trowa interrupted him, crossing his arms and staring straight ahead. “We've got time.”

End of conversation.

The blue-eyed man shifted in his seat and glanced out the car window, a smear of dark brown hair flashing by.

XXXXX

Heero walked swiftly down the sidewalk, ignoring both other pedestrians hurrying home and the chilly wind that had sprung up two minutes ago.

The interview had gone better than he'd thought it would. Although maybe he shouldn't have recited all that information. Trowa Barton wasn't the least bit stupid; the man would know he'd hacked into HISA's systems. But that's exactly what guaranteed him a job.

He turned a corner off Main Street onto Park Avenue. At the far end of Park Avenue was Lunar Park, established by a group of astronomers who'd petitioned the local government for a place for locals to stargaze and learn about the constellations. The government refused, claiming it was unnecessary and would cost too much money.

Then Trowa Barton paid the mayor of Ryojou a little visit.

Construction began the following day, which, of course, made Trowa a hero in the eyes of astronomers everywhere. The park didn't benefit HISA in any way, so Ryojou's citizens were relieved to find someone in power who was generous and was capable of looking beyond the interests of his own company.

The park itself was only dimly lit at night to prevent light pollution, and because it backed up to National Forest land.

Heero passed under the archway into the park and followed the path as it made an immediate right. It cut through wide open grassland, curved around trees and signs explaining star formations and other astrological terms. Heero picked up his pace and debated whether or not to remove his suit coat jacket.

The wind suddenly kicked up again, blowing his hair into his eyes. Whole tree limbs rocked back and forth and the long meadow grass rippled like an ocean during a storm. So he decided against it.

The trees gradually thickened into woodlands, and Heero was grateful the moon was completely visible to help light his way. The dim park lighting wasn't very useful for anything other than…well…it wasn't very useful.

The path abruptly turned left around a gigantic oak trees, so Heero moved to the inside to shorten the distance he had to walk. He just wanted to go home to his apartment, because he had a new job to get ready for, and it seemed like a storm was coming if the wind was any indication; he couldn't see the sky any more through the trees, and—

Heero stopped dead mid-step.

He knew there was wildlife in the park, all parks have some sort of animals in it, but he personally had never seen anything larger than a rabbit. Supposedly, there were wolves or coyotes or whatnot in the National Forest, but this was bordering on insanity.

He'd never seen a wolf before, unless it was on television, and certainly not one this size. At least three and a half feet at the shoulder, it was over two-thirds of Heero's height. Its fur was long, and a light brown color he'd never seen before, almost blonde in some places, but maybe that was the lack of lighting. The tail nearly brushed the ground, appearing light and feathery as the wind buffeted it every which way. Its back faced him, so he couldn't see all of it.

But it was blocking his path rather effectively.

Heero cautiously started breathing again.

This was a problem. He really didn't want to fight the local wolverine population for the right to follow the park path, but he'd come too far to make backtracking worthwhile. At this rate, the heavens would open and drench him before he reached Park Avenue. But he could do it, if he absolutely had to.

Because that was a big animal.

Heero took a careful step back, keeping a watchful eye on the wolf thirty-five feet ahead of him.

The wolf turned its head to stare at him.

Heero froze.

They stood there and looked at each other, and Heero felt that something wasn't quite right; the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

A light flickered in those golden eyes—not amber; weren't wolves' eyes usually amber or brown or black?—and it slowly bared strong, sharp teeth, growling ominously, moving—

Heero backtracked rapidly around the tree.

Impossible.

He stood there staring blankly at the huge trunk of the oak tree, wondering if this was really happening to him. There wasn't really an oversized, mutated wolf wandering the Park, right? That would have made local headlines. He couldn't possibly be the first to see it.

Right?

Heero looked back around the oak, a peculiar sensation creeping over his shoulders that had been absent for a long time. The uneasy kind.

The path was deserted.

Heero couldn't believe his eyes. Surely he wasn't going crazy…? He frowned; something wasn't right here.

But the path was clear now. Heero brushed his messy hair out of his eyes, watching the trees on either side of the walkway ahead. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything other than the roaring wind. Leaves were snatched violently from the trees and thrown into the darkness of the woods. Heero hesitated for a few seconds more before making his decision. He was not backtracking.

He moved quickly onto the path again, fully alert, completely determined to continue walking and not stop until he reached his apartment.

He was walking more rapidly than he'd been before, practically jogging and fighting gusts of wind that somehow forced its way between the trees. To his frustration, it was slow going: pretty much three steps forward and one and a half steps back. Heero was ready to abandon all dignity and just run when his internal sirens went off, his instincts screaming at him. He whirled around and his eyes caught sight of a brown blur streaking right for him, and damn was it moving fast.

That stupid wolf.

He didn't have enough time to dodge its attack, but he threw up an arm to protect his face, his other hand reaching back to the waistband of his trousers and closing on—nothing.

Shit.

Heero Yuy was part of a small percentage of Ryojou's citizens with a concealed-carry weapon license. This allowed him to carry a gun on his person, hidden, of course, just about anywhere, except in places where it was forbidden to carry one, like the post office. The permit was in his wallet in his pocket.

The gun was at home, secure in his private safe because he'd decided not to bring it to his meeting with Trowa Barton, since arriving armed and dangerous to an interview with your heavily guarded future employer was generally not smiled upon.

Boy did he regret that choice now.

The animal barreled into him with the force of a fire truck, a shin-crawling howl ending abruptly as its jaw fastened painfully around his exposed left arm. Sharp, pointed teeth pierced his sleeve, ripping the fabric of his coat and tearing into his flesh. Heero swore furiously as his back collided with a jarring thud against the dirt path, two hundred pounds of angry wolf above him. Jagged claws flashed across his torso, leaving trails of blood in their wake. He wanted nothing more then to strike back; just basic self-defense, but it weighed so much more than he did...

It was snapping at his face now and his arm was slowly going numb, but he felt tired and drowsy. The heavy weight on his chest was suddenly gone; Heero wasn't quite positive exactly what happened because the fight to keep his eyes open was gradually becoming a lost cause. He tried to raise himself off the ground and stand; he couldn't lay here in the open, exposed pathway and expect to be safe now that the immediate danger was past—

The full moon was out from behind the clouds again.

But his body was incapable of all voluntary movement—the most he could do was roll onto his side and try to bring his knees up under himself, but they weren't cooperating. He heard noise somewhere nearby, but he couldn't define it; a tingling born in his fingertips spread through his system like his veins were on fire. The pain in his arm was completely absent, replaced by a feeling of lacking the limb altogether. He tried to focus on the throbbing in his head so he could block it out, but it relentlessly expanded without any regard for his tolerance of pain, which was already higher than most people's—

Then he blacked out, and the gorgeous full moon's mocking face was the last thing he saw.

XXXXX

Author's Note: I added a lot of imagery here compared to what the original version of this chapter had. Wow. Tell me what you think! This is a little different then my usual AU story ideas, but I've thought it out fairly well. For future reference, let me know if there are any discrepancies with facts or anything. Please Review!