Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Yumi ❯ Yumi ( Chapter 1 )

Two years had passed since everything had happened. The Gundam pilots that had once been seen as unnecessary and enemies of the government now held positions in the Preventers and were now seen as protectors. Life seemed to be pretty quiet now.

Duo laid on the couch that the group all shared at headquarters and let out a heavy sigh. Heero glanced to the braided brunette and then turned back to his laptop screen. "Problems, Duo?"

Duo sat up and turned towards the Japanese pilot. "Huh? No, not really, just bored."

"Life not exciting enough for you?" Trowa asked as he entered the room.

"No, not how it used to be."

"Actually, I prefer this boring life to running and hiding," Quatre commented as he returned to his book on an overstuffed chair.

"Yeah, I know, I just feel bored," Duo said as he rolled his eyes and let himself fall back onto the couch.

"Yumi said she'd be back an hour ago…" Heero declared.

"Miss Perfect, late? Now there's a surprise!" Duo said with a surprised look on his face.

"No, contact form her. Something must have happened," Heero grumbled.

: Heero, can you here me?: a strained voice asked in his mind.

Heero stiffened. "Never mind that, she's contacting now." : What's wrong Yumi, you're late.:

: It took longer than expected.:

: Any injuries?:

: Nothing I can't handle, I'll be there in ten.:

: Roger that.: Heero then turned to the other three boys and stood. "She'll be here in ten minutes. Get the first aid kit."

"What's wrong?" Quatre asked.

"She's injured and most likely it's serious."

Quatre then dashed off into another room to go fetch a first aid kit while Heero headed down to the Gundam hanger. Soon enough, the Archangel Gundam arrived looking worse for ware. One of its arms was severely damaged and it was covered in burns. Heero cursed as he watched the cockpit open and a tall woman emerge slowly. She stumbled on the way down and fell off the walkway. Quickly, Heero ran and caught the falling woman. Her raven hair was a mess of sweat and blood. Her left arm was cut up and she had several chest wounds. Slowly, the woman let her lavender colored eyes open and smiled up at the boy that held her.

"Maybe I couldn't handle it," she said, her voice hoarse. She then collapsed into his arms and passed out.

The sunlight burned her eyes even through her eyelids. Yumi moaned as she opened her eyes and let her senses return. As her blurred sight focused she noticed that she was in her room at Preventer HQ. As she looked around the room, she noticed a head of brown hair resting upon a pair of folded arms next to her. She smiled as she let her hand run through the hair, causing its owner to stir. Yumi's eyes went wide as a pair of blue eyes appeared out of the hair.

"Heero?"

"I must have fallen asleep," he said as he sat up.

"What happened?"

"You were badly injured and almost plummeted off your gundam to your death. You've been asleep for a couple days now. Duo and Quatre have been whining like infants."

"I'm not surprised. Did my mission succeed?"

"Yes. The cu was prevented and the rebels were taken into custody. For someone that injured, you did very well."

"Are you complimenting me or am I hallucinating?"

"Believe what you want, Yumi. Duo's been repairing 06 and complaining about how reckless you were."

Yumi attempted to laugh, but her ribs hurt too much. "Why were you watching me?"

"No one else would have done it right."

"Mr. Perfect strikes again…"

"Duo calls you something similar."

"I figured, just because I'm more efficient than he is."

Heero let himself smile. Yumi seemed shocked. "What?" he asked.

"You're smiling… are you going to kill me now? Or did you destroy Duo?"

"Why would I kill you? You're the only useful pilot here. As for Duo… I wish."

"He's that bad when I'm not around?"

"Affirmative, when he's not drooling over you, he's bugging the hell out of me."

"I see. Well tell him I'll rip him a new one when I feel better."

"Gladly," he said as he stood and left the room. : You scared me, Yumi, don't do it again.:

: You? Scared? That doesn't seem to be like you… what are you not telling me, Heero?:

Heero seemed momentarily shocked. He had forgotten she could do that. :Nothing… Get some rest.:

Yumi nodded and let her heavy eyelids close as the Japanese pilot left the room. Heero sighed heavily as he leaned against her door. He had forgotten that she was a telepath… again. He had forgotten to keep his mind clear around her. Slowly he let himself stand once again and cracked his neck. Duo would be waiting for him at the end of the hall to tease him again. Sure enough, the violet eyed, brunette baka was leaning against the wall near the living room with a smirk on his face that made Heero want to punch him.

"Don't you have something better to do?" Heero growled.

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Tell her what?"

"That you're in love with her," Duo said as he peered at his friend through his bangs.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You really suck at lying to me, you know that?"

Heero glared at the American pilot causing a shiver to travel down Duo's back. Heero smirked triumphantly and entered the living room where the rest of his comrades waited for his report.

Quatre was the first to notice Heero and leapt from his seat. "How is she?"

"Conscious, and healing," Heero answered coldly.

"Does she wish to talk to anyone?" Trowa asked.

"She's still weak and needs more rest."

"That baka onna should have known better than to go up against that many foes alone," Wufei stated from the couch. Trowa and Quatre rolled their eyes. Although he sounded cold, Wufei was just as worried about her as the rest of them. The only way he could express this though was by insulting her actions. They had seen this countless times before and were getting a bit sick of it.

"Will you stop acting like an ass and just admit you were worried?" Duo asked the Chinese boy that sat with his arms crossed across his chest.

Wufei grumbled in response and shifted.

"I'll take that as a no," Duo sighed as he flopped down next to the boy on the couch.

: Guys…someone's in here and I'm too weak to move! Help me!: Yumi's panicked voice rang clear in all of the pilot's minds.

Within seconds the five boys were down the hall as Heero kicked in the door. Each stood in shock at the scene before them.

A man clad in the rebellion army uniform held a semi-conscious Yumi in his arms with a knife to her throat. In her current state she was helpless as he attempted to defile her. Heero's eyes took on a steely color as his rage boiled over. Within an instant, he had his gun drawn and pointed at the offenders head.

"LET. HER. GO!" he shouted, much to the surprise of his comrades.

The man smiled as he drug the blade of his knife across Yumi's throat, placing just enough pressure to draw blood. "She yours? Does this make you mad? To see your woman in the arms of another man and unable to do anything for her?"

"Drop her now, or I WILL kill you!" Heero ordered.

"You are in no position to order me around, Preventor!"

"Dude, just put her down and back away, you really don't want him mad," Duo coaxed as he kept his own anger in check.

"Oh, I think I do want to piss him off," the baka said as he pressed a little on the knife, causing Yumi to whimper in pain. Yumi hated being weak and this guy was making her feel like she was a new born kitten.

"Heero…" Yumi pleaded as the guy began to tear at her clothing.

Heero's eyes went wide as he heard her plea. Never had she ever made a sound like that before. She was almost as stubborn as he was when it came to asking for help and here she was pleading for him with the last of her strength. Heero's steel like control snapped as the guy began to touch her intimately. Duo's anger was at a plateau when he heard a growl come from his friend. Trowa and Wufei were ready to leap out and grab the guy as soon as Duo gave the order. Quatre was standing by to snatch Yumi and get her out of there. Duo nodded as he watched Heero charge the guy, Trowa and Wufei at his heels.

Within an instant, Heero had the rebel on the ground and was pounding the living daylights out of him as Trowa and Wufei held him down, not caring about protocol at that moment. Quatre and Duo gently picked up their female comrade and carried her out of the room and down to the medical lab to tend to her new wounds and her reopened old wounds.

Later that evening, Heero sat crouched against the wall in a darkened hallway, his head in his hands as he waited for Quatre to leave the Med lab and give him her progress for the second time in four days. Trowa and Wufei had taken the intruder down to the cell area to keep him until he regained consciousness and they would be able to interrogate him. Duo had been watching his conflicted friend for about an hour now as Heero stared at the floor. Heero had really lost it in the room. Duo winced as he remembered seeing the results of Heero's pent up frustration on the intruder. Duo was surprised that the guy had even survived such a beating.

Duo watched Heero for a few more minutes before the med lab doors opened and an exhausted Quatre exited the room. Heero leapt to his feet and looked to the blonde pilot with a pleading look in his cerulean eyes.

"She's fine. A few of her older wounds reopened so it took a little longer than usual to stich her up. She's conscious and asking for you," Quatre stated.

Heero didn't say a thing as he sprinted into the room and closed the door behind him. Quatre sighed and headed towards Duo.

"She going to be okay?" Duo asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. They aren't as bad as her wounds were when we first met her. Heero just worries too much."

Duo laughed at Quatre's comment. "Yeah, especially about her."

[Flashback]

Duo, Quatre, and Heero had been traveling together for a few weeks now when they had heard a distress call on their channel. Curious to whom would be using that channel, they tracked down the distress call down to a heavily wooded area in the middle of western Europe.

The boys were taken by surprise when they saw the gundam that lay on the ground. It looked angelic with its wings that looked feathered and it's almost golden appearance. Cautiously, the boys approached the cockpit of the battle scarred mobile suit and opened the hatch. Inside lay a vision of beauty that both boys had never seen before. Her short black hair was disheveled and matted with sweat and blood. There were multitudes of scratches and smears of blood on her pale white skin as her black flight suit clad body moved slightly with her breaths. Clutched in her left hand was a hand gun that was slowly lifted as the woman noticed their presence. She opened her lavender colored eyes and breathed erratically as she pointed the gun at Heero. Duo looked her over and saw that she was bleeding badly from her side and one of her legs seemed to be broken as they lay almost bonelessly in front of her.

"S-state your n-names a-and organization," the woman managed to growl as she fought unconsciousness.

"Heero Yuy, Gundam pilot. Duo Maxwell, the same."

"01 and 02?" she asked, her voice seemed a bit hopeful.

Heero nodded. "Who are you?"

"Y-Yumi Katsuragi, 06 pilot," she stated as her gun shook with strain.

"You have sustained severe damage."

"No shit!" she shouted. She then winced and grabbed her side in pain. : I apologize, Heero, I'm in a lot of pain and it makes me irritable.:

Heero looked at her with wide eyes. He then noticed that her right arm was clutching her side as blood seeped over her fingers. "You need help," he said softly. Duo looked over at his friend in shock at the tone of his voice. "Let us help you, Yumi."

Yumi shivered with blood loss and felt her arm fall. She attempted to stand, but her broken leg screamed in response to her weight. Yumi whimpered in pain as she slumped against her chair. "I d-don't need your help, Mr. Yuy, I need no one's help."

"Are you nuts?" Duo finally broke in. "Lady, you're getting it weather you want it or not!" he stated as he entered the cockpit and began to place his arms around her.

Duo's concentration was snapped as he felt something poke him in the crotch. Yumi glared at him as she released the safety on her gun. "Don't tempt me…" she said as her body finally had enough and she slumped into the chair, unconscious.

Heero watched with compassion in his eyes as he leapt inside and retrieved her out of the cockpit and ordered Duo to retrieve Quatre and all medical supplies he could find in the truck.

[End Flashback]

"Yeah, she really was in worse shape back then. I swear she's just as bad as super soldier back there, she screamed at us for hours about how she didn't need our help, but I guess that was just her way of thanking us. Not to mention the torment she gave me with her damn telepathy!"

Quatre giggled. "Yeah, she really does enjoy bothering you like that."

"Since you're laughing, should we deduce that Yumi's okay?" Trowa asked from behind Duo.

The boys turned and nodded to the other pair that stood behind them. "Yeah, Heero's with her right now."

Wufei rolled his eyes as Trowa smiled. "That's good," Trowa stated.

"What did he say while he was beating the crap out of the intruder?" Duo asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Something along the lines of `touch my woman again and I won't hesitate to rip you limb from limb'," Wufei said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"He didn't! Man, does he have it bad for her," Duo exclaimed.

"About as bad as his Relena obsession."

"Yeah, that was a fun one. Good thing that didn't end too badly."

"Well, with his hesitation, it barely even became anything. You can't really blame her for moving on," Trowa sighed.

"Yeah, well, it's not like we expected her to move on to you Trowa," Quatre giggled.

The tall, green eyed pilot blushed as he looked down at his shoes, suddenly finding them interesting. For a few months now, he had been seeing Relena on a regular basis and was becoming quite serious with her. Quatre giggled at his friend's reaction.

"So, Trowa, how is the foreign minister?" Duo asked smoothly.

"Shut it, Maxwell, unless you wish to divulge your latest conquest with us?" Wufei snapped.

"Oh lighten up, Wufei, just because you're the only married one among us doesn't mean that you have to be so god damned modest!"

"Do you even know the meaning of the word, Maxwell?"

"Shut up, Wufei! I can give you few choice words that even you would understand!"

"I'm sure."

"You stupid bastard! Stop acting like you're better than me!"

"Why should I hide the truth?"

"Prick!"

"Moronic asshole!"

"Up tight jackass!"

"There they go again," Quatre moaned as he massaged his temples with his fingers. This was a regular occurrence when Wufei would push Duo a little too hard and start an all out brawl between the two boys.

He and Trowa sighed and left the vicinity of the two and headed for the living room talking about their respective girlfriends and lives.

Meanwhile within the med lab Heero was sitting next to Yumi on the bed. A look of complete sadness filled his eyes as he watched her sleep. He had heard the others in their conversation and had been paying attention until Duo and Wufei had begun to bicker. He remembered how much it had hurt when Relena had dumped him and started dating Trowa a couple of weeks later. But then he remembered that Yumi had been there for him the whole time. She let him cry on her shoulder when he had felt such overwhelming sadness. She had listened to him talk about how he missed Relena and had let him sleep in her bed when he didn't want to be alone. Yumi was compassionate and had become his best friend during those weeks. She was the only one who knew everything about him, the only one that knew his every thought and weakness.

She had been just as alone as he was before she had met him and the others. She had endured the same kind of training but had retained her compassion. She had defied the Barton family by her own will, not by her instructor's orders. She never attacked an unarmed opponent and tried to keep things as bloodless as possible, even in the middle of a war.

Heero had been taken aback when he had seen her take hits as she let civilians escape from a town that was being attacked by OZ. He had watched her as she tended to his and the others' wounds and needs before she even thought of tending to her own. She was independent, but she also took care of others before herself. She didn't enjoy receiving help, only giving it.

Heero remembered how she had called to him in her weakened state, as the intruder attempted to violate her body. Her voice was strained and full of fear. It was the first and only time he had ever heard or felt fear coming from her. She feared nothing. And yet she had feared what that man would have done to her. Heero clenched his fists until his nails cut into his skin, causing blood to trickle between his fingers. Heero couldn't feel the pain as he tightened his fists on his thighs.

Heero closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as his rage threatened to emerge once again. Only this time it came out in tears as pushed one of his hands through his hair and fisted it. The tears began to fall as he berated himself. : I couldn't protect her… he could have killed her! He could have… this is all my fault! Damn it! I could have lost her!:

Heero leaned on the rail that surrounded her bed and let the tears fall. He then felt something softly caress his arm and opened his now red eyes. Yumi's lavender gaze locked with his cerulean blue as she petted his arm, trying to comfort him. Heero sighed as he grasped her hand and held it to his face. He then let his lips brush across the back of her hand as he whispered apologies to her.

"Shh, Heero, I'm okay. Don't worry, I'm fine, don't apologize. If I wasn't so weak he couldn't have…"

"You are not weak," he stated.

"I should have been able to stop him."

"You were still recuperating. I shouldn't have left you alone… it was my fault," he said as he kissed the back of her hand. "I almost lost you."

"I've been through worse."

"I know… wait worse than what he was planning to do to you?" Heero asked.

"Others have done far worse than try to rape me."

"Yumi…"

"When I was being trained for Operation Meteor, the other soldiers they used to…" Yumi trailed off and her eyes became distant as old memories flooded her mind. She then shook her head as tears attempted to fall and blink them away. "It doesn't matter now."

"Yumi, what did they do? Why didn't anyone stop them?"

Yumi's lip trembled as she looked into Heero's sympathetic cerulean eyes. "They… during my off time they would take me into one of their rooms, tie me up, and beat me until I couldn't fight back and then they would rape me until I bled. No one stopped them because no one knew. They threatened to kill me if I ever told, and at that time they were stronger than I was. That's why I didn't need my instructor's order to abandon Operation M, I wanted to get away and then pay them back for what they did to me," Yumi said as she began to weep uncontrollably into her free hand.

"Why… why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought that you wouldn't want me around if you found out that I was so weak and defiled."

Heero let the rail slide down to the floor and scooped the girl into his arms. "You are wrong."

Yumi felt him caress her cheek and leaned into his hand. "Heero…"

"Never doubt my need for you, Yumi," Heero said softly as he lifted her chin with his fingers and held her close, but gently so not to aggravate her wounds. "I love you, Yumi."

Yumi's eyes went wide as Heero leaned in and kissed her. She then felt herself melt into his touch and let her eyes drift closed as she returned the gentle caress of his lips upon hers.

As Heero pulled away he brushed the remnants of her tears away with his fingers. Yumi slowly opened her eyes. "Heero… I-I I love you, too," she stuttered as she placed one of her hands on his face and wiped away at the dried lines of his own tears with her thumb.

Heero smiled genuinely as he gazed down into Yumi's lavender eyes. He then heard the door open and turned to see Quatre and Duo (who was sporting a black eye) enter the room. Duo glanced at the two lovers and gave Heero a silly smile. Quatre noticed them as well but decided not to voice anything about it. Duo, on the other hand, waltzed over to the pair and slapped Heero on the back and winked at Yumi.

"Maxwell, if you value your life, you will say nothing and walk away," Heero growled.

Duo knew Heero could be a lot rougher than Wufei and while he wanted to tease the Japanese boy, he didn't want two black eyes and a broken wrist which Heero would not hesitate to bestow upon him. He then spun around and headed over to Quatre, who already had an ice pack out for his eye. He then proceeded to vacate the premises. Quatre merely shook his head and approached Yumi.

"Be careful not to reopen your wounds again, Yumi. I don't want stitching you back up to become a regular thing now," he said cheerfully as he patted her on the shoulder and smiled to Heero as he left as well.

As he closed the door he looked over to the other boys who stared expectantly at the blonde. Duo had refrained from speaking for once and now lay on the couch with the ice pack on his eye. Wufei smirked as he watched Quatre cross the room and pick up his tea, that he had left behind when he went to get the ice pack.

"Well?" Trowa asked.

"Well what?" Quatre answered with a question.

"Did he tell her?"

"I think so. He was holding her really close when we entered."

"Not to mention I heard her say `I love you too, Heero'," Duo added trying to mimic Yumi's voice as he quoted her.

Trowa smiled.

"Why so interested?" Quatre asked.

"Relena wanted to know. She had suspected that the reason why they never got very far was because Heero really was in love with Yumi. Of course she wants nothing but his happiness."

"That and she wants to be sure that she was right," Wufei snickered.

"Of course."

~ Owari ~