Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Tears ❯ Discovery ( Chapter 5 )

PAIRINGS: 2x5/5x2, 1+2/2+1, 1x5/5x1, 3x4

WARNINGS: This might get a bit complicated (the fic, I mean), yaoi, language, perhaps angst later (but not to much), little bit of sap. Set after Endless Waltz.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Jack, Gundam Wing or anything else I happen to use in this fic.

NOTES: Here we go. Review and I write faster. Suggest and I improve. Flame and I laugh.

DEDICATION: For anyone who wants to archive me. Please?

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Wufei had followed Heero through the crowds of the more populated area of L2. Heero was parting the way so that Wufei could get Kassia through without having to risk getting her arm bumped.

They reached their hotel room fairly quickly. It was the most expensive on L2 -equivalent to an ordinary hotel on earth, or any of the other colonies, for that matter. They used the lift to get up to their second from the top unit - it made it harder for burglars to get in, according to Heero and Wufei didn't disagree. It was a pain going up and down the lift or stairs, but on L2 it wasn't worth taking unnecessary chances and making it easier for the mostly corrupt population to rob you blind.

Heero opened the door efficiently and quickly, scanning the room before letting Wufei enter. Wufei made his way straight to the bathroom, gently setting Kassia down, being very careful of her arm. Heero grabbed the first aid kit that they had been sure to bring, somewhat out of habit but mostly because of how shocked they had been at the colonies limited medical facilities.

He walked in silently, placing the box on the ground near the stool where Wufei had put the small girl. She looked at the messy haired man, obviously unsure as to what he was about to do with her. He looked her straight in the eyes, silently coming to a conclusion about her ability to make decisions for herself.

"Do you want me to set your arm now, or wait until you can get back home?" Heero asked, still looking the child in the eyes.

"Um. . . setting my arm will be painful, wont it?"

Heero nodded in reply.

"Well, could you wait until I get home? I'd rather it if dad could be there."

"Sure."

Wufei, satisfied with what was going to happen and knowing that there was no need for his immediate support, moved off to get together some food for Kassia. He grabbed the most nutritious and easy on the stomach that he could manage from their limited supplies. He put them all in a bag, trying to ignore the gasps and whimpers of pain coming from the bathroom.

Kassia sat on the stool, doing her best not to cry. It hurt, just having it bound so that she could make it home. She could barely fight the urge to scream aloud and pass out. Heero had his jaw set tight, knowing the pain that the young girl would be going through.

He stood and grabbed the strongest pain killers in his collection that did not have any side effects. Filling a glass with water he gave the small pill to Kassia, waiting for her to catch her breath and swallow it. Once she had done this he picked her up and carried her out to the kitchen where Wufei was waiting with a duffel bag of food.

"Ready?" He asked, pushing himself off the bench to stand near Heero.

Heero nodded and Wufei lead the pair behind him out of the hotel.

"Where do we go from here?" Wufei asked the girl cradled in Heero's arms.

"Head west, only walking along the main streets. Once you reach a dead end, turn down the nearest street. It should be the one with condemned signs posted throughout. Then go to number 378 and go around the back entrance as the front of the house is totally unusable." She then smiled and promptly fell asleep against Heero's chest.

Wufei smiled slightly at the sleeping child then set off, Heero closely behind. It took them another hour and a half to reach the dead end street. They were both surprised that the child had walked this far just to steal some money for food. It was more than 4 kilometres which any normal child would be continuously whinging about after a mere kilometre. Their respect for Kassia rose tenfold.

As they began walking down the street that Kassia had mentioned Heero sensed a group following them. Wufei nodded at Heero's glance, tensing and readying himself for the coming attack. Wufei sensed the subtle shift in the air before the attack came. He spun meeting the would-be attacker with his knee, causing the man to stumble, at a loss for breath. The second rushed at Wufei, trying to avenge his gasping friend. Wufei quickly disposed of him as well by dislocating his shoulder with a weird crunching sort of a pop.

A third and fourth were tyring to attack Heero while he was still holding the child, shielding her face so that if she awoke she wouldn't be exposed to what was happening. The thugs tried to hit Heero over the head with a piece of metal pipe that one of them was holding. Wufei quickly moved to Heero's side but before he could act Kassia stirred.

She moved her head and made eye contact with one of the men. He quickly dropped the pipe, stuttering slightly.

"S. . . s. . . Sorry, Kassia. We didn't know they were with you! D. . . don't tell you father, please?" The heavily built man looked positively terrified at the mere sight of the small girl.

"Don't let it happen again. And leave these men alone when they leave, we owe them a debt. As do you - they didn't kill you."

The men bowed at her and went off, one of them pulling the whimpering man with a broken arm behind him. Wufei and Heero both looked in shock at Kassia, unsure of what to make of this sudden revelation of her status. They didn't quite know what to make of her. Obviously, so close to home, she was both feared and revered simply because of her fathers status. The two ex pilots began to wonder exactly who was this man to encourage such a reaction.

Kassia slumped once again against Heero chest, the effort of making her voice strong and practically dripping in authority taking her energy away quickly. Wufei smiled softly, admiring her strength. Heero's eyes softened as well, glancing down at Kassia before continuing on toward her house.

Wufei stopped, stock still, outside of house 378. It deserved to be condemned, that was the only thought that was passing through his head. He glanced back to Heero and Kassia, meeting his partners eyes. They both shared the thought that this child didn't deserve to live in this mess.

Kassia stirred in Heero's arms. He gently moved her so that she could see where they were. She smiled at the house, obviously glad to be home.

"I'm coming, dad," she whispered quietly to herself.

The trio made their way through piles of junk - burnt out cars, old dishwashers, irreparable television sets over 20 years old - and around to the back of the decrepit house. Kassia let herself down from Heero's grasp as they neared the door, knocking five times, pausing, knocking seven times then drumming her fingers against the wood.

"At least I think today is a Tuesday. . ." she murmured to herself.

Jiggling the doorknob and trying to bump the door open with her one good arm was no mean feat but Kassia managed it with a grace that Duo would have been proud of. Letting herself in she gestured to the men behind her to come in but to wait in what looked to be the `sitting room' of the house. She tiptoed down a hall, pausing to take her shoes off before making her way through a door.

A few minutes later whispering could be heard, one obviously male judging by the depth of tone. Heero and Wufei stood quietly, stiff and mimicking the soldiers they pretended not to be. A short while later coughing could be heard and Kassia's apologies rang through the otherwise quiet house as she made her way back towards the door and the awaiting ex-pilots.

"Dad can't come at the moment. He doesn't really approve of what I did but he said that if I feel that I can trust you. . . well, could you fix my arm, please? He agrees that it's broken but he's not strong enough to fix it at the moment." Kassia let her words tumble out, slightly embarrassed at having to say them out loud. She wasn't used to relying on others.

Wufei glanced at Heero before turning to Kassia with his full body. "Where's the kitchen? I'll go and put something together for your dad while Heero fixes your arm."

Kassia silently pointed toward a door on the right while Heero bent down to inspect the arm. He lightly ran his hands along it before he gripped it with both hands. Then he thought better of it for a second, ripping the edge off his khaki pants and folding it a few times.

"Here, bite down on this. You don't want to bite your tongue," he said, placing it half in her opened mouth.

Heero then quickly grabbed her arm and pulled out then down. He pushed it back in again just as Kassia let out a scream. Silent tears were running down her face, but he admired that she wasn't letting anything other then what was involuntary show.

Wufei walked out calmly, carrying a tray with nutritious foods for Kassia's father. Heero looked at him, wondering for a moment at what Wufei would say if he knew how much the `weak onna' he looked. Kassia looked up at Wufei, moving to take the tray.

As she stepped towards Wufei a horse croak interrupted her. "Kassia?" It was rusty from disuse and obviously was fighting weakness.

"Dad! Don't get out of bed, please! I'm bringing you some food now." She sounded worried and kept glancing towards the hall and the door she had previously entered as she reached for the tray with one hand.

"Kassia, what happened?" Kassia's sick father asked, his footsteps betraying that he had ignored Kassia and was moving towards the hall.

Heero and Wufei stood back, taking a hint from the way Kassia had pointedly ignored their attempts at helping her. She moved awkwardly to the hall, trying to balance the tray partially with her body and partially with her hand.

A thump sounded in the hallway and Kassia dropped the tray quickly running towards the source of the noise. Her voice came out as a half choked sob, half hysterical scream, "DAD!?!"

Wufei and Heero moved forward quickly, wanting to aid the strong girls father. What they saw stopped their hearts simultaneously. Laying, only partially showing through the doorway off the hall was Kassia's father. His face was ashen grey, hollowed cheeks and dark circles around the eyes emphasising his ill-health. An almost skeletal frame could not support the clothes on his body, the once obviously well fitting outfit now merely hanging off the man as they would from a coat hanger. His hair had lost its lustre and shine, barely contained with a long braid which was obviously what Kassia had modelled hers off.

The appearance of the man that Kassia had been so concerned for and obviously admired did not shock the pair for the obvious reasons. The man laying unconscious on the floor of a condemned piece of property on L2 was unmistakably, though sickness and time had changed his appearance dramatically, the one that Heero and Wufei had been searching for not very long after the final get together. Ex pilot 01 and 05 were staring at Duo Maxwell. The missing piece in both their lives.

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Anastasia

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