Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Imperfect Soldier ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 4: Imperfect Soldier


Seiji-


He sat on the bed, naked and cold, staring straight ahead when the white coated doctor ran his fingers up and down his spine. The walls were white. No pictures, no color. Though the room was kept warm, the air was cold, sterile, and tasted of nothing. It was lifeless…stale. Just like the boy.

“Do you feel pain?”

“I feel nothing.”

“Good. Good.” The doctor moved around the bed and shone a light in the patient’s single eye. “Look left. Now right.”

It was all so tedious. The same thing every night. Same white haired doctor, same questions, same routine. Just once, he wished they would sent a different doctor to examine him. It wasn’t as if he was often allowed outside his room, they should let him see a few different faces once in a while. He didn’t say anything, though. He’d learned long ago not to share his opinions or thoughts. It was wasteful and, often, painful. They didn’t want to hear what he thought or what he wanted. All he had to do was keep silent and do what he was told and they’d leave him alone, for the most part.

The room he’d spent the past many years in was small and spartan. The walls were starkly white and the floor was cold metal. Even the bed was nothing more than a cot with a worn mattress and a thin blanket. He knew every inch of the room. Every bolt and every seam in the walls. He knew the sound of the air recycling system as if it were his mother’s heartbeat. Most of all, he knew the door. It was heavy and locked only from the outside. There was a small slot in the door that could be opened from the outside so whoever wanted to could look in on him at any time.

Privacy was not one of his luxuries.

As a matter of fact, he had few luxuries. He couldn’t honestly say he had none. After all, they allowed him his food on a tray. He now had socks and the blanket on his bed was washed every week. There used to be a time, not long ago, when he didn’t even have that much.

Maybe it was only to be expected that he would be so familiar with it, after all, he’s spent his whole life in that room. Well…not quite his whole life. There had been a time before the room. A time of fresh air and laughter. A long ago time.

“Hold out your arm, Hiro. How does your eye feel?”

He did it without complaint or comment when the needle was sunk into his arm and the sample of blood withdrawn. Again, it was just routine. The needle hurt, but he didn’t flinch. Pain was only temporary. It would be forgotten in a moment. “I feel no discomfort.” The missing eye hadn’t bothered him in a very long time.

His name wasn’t Hiro, but he’d long since stopped objecting to being address by it. There was no point.

“There. You can put your arm down, now.”

Again, he complied and stood waiting for the next order.

“Your hair needs trimming. Better yet, it needs shaving off.”

Of course it did. He wasn’t allowed to have anything sharp that he could use to cut it with and it wasn’t often that anyone could be bothered do it. His hair hadn’t been cut in years and, as a result, hung down well passed his shoulder blades in shaggy, tangled knots. No hairbrush. No shampoo. Those luxuries he was not allowed. The greasy locks were a nuisance and did no good. Frankly, he’d be pleased if they did shave it off.

The doctor reached over his shoulder and grabbed a handful of the long, golden hair. “Disgusting. We’ll shave it in the morning. For now…” He took a pair of long silver scissors out of his kit and cut off a few feet. “It’s not perfect, but it’ll do till we can get the razor and shave off the rest. Grows so quickly.” The doctor dropped the cut hair on the floor, slipped his scissors back into his kit and left the little room with the sample of blood he’d come for. The guard at the door closed the door and he heard the lock slide into place and, once more, he was alone.

‘Date. My name’s Date. Date Seiji.’ It seemed important to him that he remember his name, if nothing else. They could call him Hiro. They could call him whatever they liked, but he was Date Seiji. Long ago, when he had first been brought to this place, he argued with them about his name, but it had never done any good. Seiji had come to realize that the only one who cared about his name was himself. So he stopped arguing and started answering to Hiro.

Seiji put a hand to his hair. It fell to just above his shoulder, but still wasn’t short enough. A shave would be nice. More comfortable. Maybe the itching on his head would stop. Was it fleas or lice? Seemed hard to imagine that even those tiny creatures could find a way into the cell. Not that anyone cared. The parasites wouldn’t kill him and so long as he was alive they could use him. They didn’t think minor things like general health were important.

Not that Seiji cared what THEY thought, anyway. THEY were the enemy. But he had played along with what they wanted and he had become what they had wanted him to become. The perfect soldier. Well, he had tried to become what they’d wanted. It was working, too, until his eye had been taken from him.

Seiji went and lay down on the mattress pushed up against the far wall. He had nothing better to do until they came to retrieve him for training. However long that might take, hours, days, or weeks. Might as well sleep or at least rest.


Dream-


The forest was green and green was life. Life all around him, warm life. He could feel the pulse of life pressing around him like a heavy blanket on a cold winter’s night. It was comfortable and familiar and Seiji didn’t want to move. If he stayed still enough and tried not to breathe, maybe everything would stay like this. He felt safe. He felt as if someone were holding him and that it was their heartbeat he was hearing so clearly.

There were trees all around. Dark trunks and leaves a brighter green than any he could remember with the sunlight shining through them, almost making the leaves glow. The fallen leaves under his feet crunched loudly when Seiji took a step. The sky was blue as…as…

‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Or maybe he had. Once, as a child, he’d seen the blue sky of Earth dotted with clouds. Hadn’t he gone to the beach once with sissy? The sky had been unreal and filled with ivory white, screaming gulls. The sand was hot under his bare feet.

What a long time ago…

There were other things in the forest, not just the trees and the sky and the dry leaves underfoot. Seiji knew there were animals in the forest. He could feel them, for lack of a better word. Tiny little lives all existing within the pulse of the forest. Fragile and delicate lives. They buzzed around, brushing against his skin with a pleasant tickle.

Best of all, the sun was warm on Seiji’s face. He opened his eyes at last and only then realized that his eyes had been closed. So how had he known that the sky was so bright or the leaves so green? Now he could see and it was all just as he knew it was. The blue sky and green leaves. There were birds singing and flying in the sky, chipmunks running up the trees and other, larger animals peacefully grazing or walking about. Seiji turned around in a circle hungry to savor all that he saw. He’d turned around once before he saw it.

It was standing as still as a statue, looking at him. A suit of ancient-looking, green yoroi. It had a horned helmet and a huge sword in its hands. Behind the gray face-mask, there was no face, just emptiness. Seiji stepped toward it, curious. He’d never seen anything like the suit of armor. Lessons had taught him that samurai armor was brightly colored, but not like this. Primary green and bright white metal were not samurai armor.

"We must be joined." The voice, Seiji’s voice, came from the facemask. "We must be joined." The forest went dark, as the armor spoke again, but not like nightfall. It was complete darkness, no moon or stars, just the yoroi emitting a green glow. "We are one. We are Korin!"

He was safe, suddenly, safe and strong. No one could hurt me and there was no one stronger. How very odd, since darkness was Seiji’s worst fear. He walked closer to the yoroi and it mirrored his movements, stepping where he stepped and when Seiji raised a hand towards it, it raised its metal encased hand. Their fingertips touched and Seiji was home. He knew unquestioningly that he had to be with the yoroi, no matter what it cost.

‘This is me. This is who I am. Who I was always meant to be.’


End Dream-


Seiji woke, as always, in the darkness of his cell. The yoroi was gone as was the feeling of safety and comfort. The ventilators wheezed with their constant use and no other sound made its way into the six-foot by six-foot room, painted in stark white. He woke with the knowledge of what he had to do.

It was time to go home.

Seiji stood up and dressed himself in the only clothes he had - the black body suit they used for his gundam training, before laying down on the floor to look under the door that led to the outside. He could see only one pair of feet and heard no talking, so only one was on guard tonight.

He made a mistake, that one guard. He must have become complacent about Seiji had left the door of his quarters unlocked. After all, Seiji had been there for years and had not tried to escape since just before he had turned seven. Seeing his opportunity to escape Seiji had to take it, with the memory of the yoroi still fresh in his mind.

The man was barely older than Seiji was and had turned his back to the cell’s door when Seiji looked out opening it only slightly. It was too good to pass up. Seiji smashed his fist against the back of the guard’s head, sending him flying into the opposite wall before he slumped limply to the floor. Seiji then took the man's gun, slipped it into his boot, and ran. The cameras would notice Seiji in very few seconds, but ironically, Seiji’s training had given him the skills to elude the cameras. Seiji made it to the hanger where the two Gundams, Wing Zero and Halo Light, were kept quite easily, but this was another problem. The hanger was heavily guarded with a lot of people as witnesses.

Seiji would need the gun from the guard.

Freedom was within his reach and Seiji was not going to let it go just because he don't like guns. The people fell like puppets whose strings had just been cut and Seiji tried not to look at them when he ran through the hanger to Halo Light. He didn't want to kill. He really didn't want to do it, but sometimes it was necessary.

Halo Light was the Gundam that had been intended for Seiji before the incident, so Seiji was well acquainted with it. Wing Zero was the newer, more advanced Gundam, but Halo Light was still operational, even if attention was being focused on Wing Zero. Dr. J had not wasted time on the advanced training me when it was thought Seiji wouldn't be needed in battle. Seiji was, after all, just a back-up pilot in case anything should happen to Heero.

Seiji climbed quickly into the cockpit of Halo Light, strapping himself in as he’d done hundreds of times before. He would have to rely on the computers, though, as his lack of depth perception would be dangerous while piloting the Gundam. Seiji powered up, knowing that he would have only seconds before the other soldiers would be alerted. One of the first things Seiji did was to turn on the radio, to listen in to whatever was going on.

Immediately, he heard over the radio, "Hiro's escaped, he's gotten to Halo Light! Deploy Heero! I repeat, deploy Heero!”

‘He’s working for them? Damn!’ Seiji had wanted to take Heero with him. It wouldn’t have been easily, but he could use Halo Light to rescue Heero and bring him back to Earth. What was life worth without his friend, after all? He’d been yearning for Heero ever since they’d been separated. If Heero was working for Doctor J, then it was pointless. He'd end up killing Seiji if he saw him. ‘Strange, I wouldn't have thought him so willing after that night…’ Oh, well, if that's Heero’s choice, he would just have to live with it. Seiji pushed aside the pain to deal with it later. ‘So will I.’

Seiji blasted free of the colony's hidden base where the Gundams and he had been created and felt nothing. Seiji knew that he would not go back to the slavery, but he felt nothing. He wasn't happy or sad or even scared. Perhaps that wasn’t so surprising. It was how he had been trained, after all. No fear. No joy. Simply get the job done. The mission was all that mattered. They had designed Seiji to take orders, but he had no master. Seiji had always been very firm on that point. ‘I give my obedience to no one! I know I have all the strength I need to do this.’

Still, as Seiji flew toward Earth, his target, he couldn’t help but think of Heero. He hadn't seen Heero since they were seven, but still remembered him clearly. They were to have been partners and if they'd left Seiji with Heero, Seiji knew that he might not have run away. After the incident where Seiji had been blinded in his left eye it was decided that he was not acceptable as a pilot. Seiji was judged a crippled and worthless to Doctor J's plan. Heero, Seiji had been told, had gone on to the advanced training, alone, while Seiji had been basically locked up and left alone for years.

Heero had been Seiji’s friend, the only friend Seiji could remember having.

The flight to Earth was stressful. They would be sending someone after Seiji, which was only logical. Seiji knew where they were based and he knew most of their secrets. He was far too dangerous to be allowed to live if they couldn‘t control him. They would have to kill him. Seiji was lucky when he managed to make it to Earth without being recaptured or destroyed. When he saw Earth again for the first time in many years, his breath was taken away, if only for a moment. Beautiful blues and greens all swirling together under a light cover of white clouds.

Once Seiji had landed in a large forest on Earth, the side of a large mountain. The landing was rough, but better than Seiji had expected considering that Halo Light didn’t have daily inspections and repairs. Still in the cockpit of the ship, he looked at the large red self-destruct button. It was there in case of a failed mission and was to be used to kill the pilot of the Gundam and get rid of all evidence. Pity for them that they had trained Seiji so well and, yet, so poorly.

It was easy to rewire the self-destruct to activate at a preset time. Seiji had plenty of time to get out of the suit and get to a safe distance. The machine exploded magnificently, but Seiji didn’t die. Even as he watched the magnificent explosion and watched the brightly glowing pieces of Halo Light rain down around him, Seiji did not smile. Emotions are for the weak and he wouldn’t allow himself to be weak.

‘I am Date Seiji. I am strong.’

Of course, now Seiji was alone in the wilderness and had nowhere to go. He wasn’t even sure he was anywhere near Japan let along Sendai. Was there even a family to go back to? Seiji had been gone so long, they probably wouldn't even remember him. If they did remember him, they wouldn't recognize him. Would they even want him?

Seiji started walking, just wanting to get away from the wreckage before anyone could come to investigate. Logically, they would find the wreckage and assume that Seiji had killed himself when he'd reached Earth, or that something had just gone wrong. It might not work that way, however, so Seiji had to get away.

Seiji walked for hours, but thanks to his training, it really didn't affect him. Seiji stopped by a river for a drink of water when he realized someone was standing behind him. Using sharp reflexes, Seiji turned with his hands raised defensively, ready to fight. The gun is still at his side, but Seiji still hate the thing. Some had once told Seiji that guns were crutches for those unable to fight like true warriors. That person had vanished shortly afterwards..

The person behind Seiji didn't seem like a threat. His long black hair was un-kept and shaggy, hanging in his eyes and his smile was that of an innocent child. He was dressed in a long, brightly colored kimono and had sandals on his feet.

"Hello." The boy, not seeming to care about what Seiji must be doing in the middle of a forest, was cheerful and pleasant. "I heard the noise and came to see if everything was all right. Ah! I forgot. Sorry. I’m Sanada Ryou." His voice was, Seiji couldn’t help but notice, a pleasant kind of a purr deep in his throat. Seiji had never realized that a person could have a pleasing voice, but he did like Ryou’s voice.

Ryou’s bright blue eyes shifted to the side, where a large white tiger emerged from the foliage with another boy at its side and then a second tiger, this one deep black with gray stripes. This new boy was also dressed in a kimono, though his was of solid black, but he also had the longest braid Seiji had ever seen. The second boy smiled brightly, though he didn’t manage to look so innocent as Ryou did. His smile was slightly devious and calculating, as if his mind held many secrets he really wanted to tell, but he knew he wasn't supposed to.

The new boy turned a cheery smile to me before addressing his friend, Ryou. "Hey, who's he?"

Ryou shrugged. "I don't know yet. This is Duo, my brother." He told Seiji, indicating the newcomer. "And this is Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh, our friends." Ryou put a hand on the head of the large tiger that, Seiji thought, was examining him, while Duo ran his hands through the black fur of Kokuen-Oh.

"How long have you been here?" Duo asked. "Was that your...your thing that made the thunder noise. I found a lot of metal stuff out there." He pointed to where Seiji had left the remains of his ship, but didn't stop talking. "I've never seen anything like it. Where do you come from? Ryou and I were just out here..." Duo stopped when Ryou elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a warning look. "Oh." Duo blushed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Er...we were just out walking. So, what brings you out here to the mountains?"

Seiji looked away from Duo back to Ryou. The boy seemed familiar and Seiji could feel a tickle at the back of his mind, telling him that he should know Ryou. Ryou’s skin was dark and his eyes are a bright blue, piercing and clear. Seiji didn’t know him, but felt like he should. Seiji liked looking at him. ‘Odd. I can't remember liking something before.’

Duo and Ryou do not look like brothers, if Seiji’s memory served, brothers should look alike. Ryou was dark skinned with beautiful almond shaped eyes whereas Duo has far paler skin and large round eyes, a European. Are they lying or is this some trap? ‘I hope I don't have to kill them.’

"We've never seen anyone else out here except our other brothers or our sister. Would you like to come to our home?" Ryou spoke quickly, a puppy dog smile on his face.

The tiger, Byakuen, purred happily and looked at Seiji with large brown eyes, not hesitating to sniff his hand and rub against his leg. It grumbled, walking to Ryou who, after kneeling next to it, made a noise suspiciously like a purr and hugged the animal happily, even nuzzling it. It was almost as if they were talking.

"Byakuen likes you." Ryou looked up at Seiji. "So, what do you say? Will you come home with us? I'm sure our brothers will like you. I almost feel like I met you before."

Seiji shook his head again. Too dangerous to hang around here where people were sure to come investigating soon and Seiji wanted them to think he had died in the explosion so they wouldn't come after him again.

"You sure don't talk much, do you?" Duo asked.

Seiji had no reason to speak.

Ryou looked disappointed, but let it go. "Oh, well. Next time you come to this part of the forest, stop by and we'll go hunting together. All right?" Ryou and Duo started back into the thick trees and Seiji heard Ryou say, "Good job, Duo-chan, you almost told on us. Aniki (big brother) wouldn't have been happy."

"You're one to talk." Duo shot back, still sounding happy. "You invited him home! What do you think Rajura-niisan would have said about that?" Their voices died away and Seiji was alone again.

Alone.

It was for the best. So why was Seiji so sad? ‘Foolish!’ Seiji had nothing to feel sad about what. Sending Ryou and Duo away has saved them in case Doctor J sent people to investigate what had happened to him and Halo Light. They might have been killed if they'd stayed near the destroyed ship. Seiji had plenty of other things to do. The yoroi in his dream from so long ago was still fresh in his mind. He had to find the green armor. He had to find my family.


Several days later-


Sendai was very different from what Seiji imagined. Still, he had very little to compare it against. The streets were, as most cities seemed to be, full of people, though here there seemed to be more trees and larger gardens here. Seiji remember very little of this place, he had only been six when he’d was Doctor J had taken him, after all.

Seiji remembered the girl with long dark hair, his sister, though Seiji couldn’t recall her name. He remembered her smile and her eyes were always so bright. No other memories were solid, just fleeting pictures and feelings. Seiji thought he could remember a woman with blonde hair, like his. A woman who was comfort and love. A man, dark haired like Seiji’s sister, who was protection and strength, was the next memory fragment. Seiji wasn’t sure who they were, but the woman was most likely his mother, as the hair was so similar. If he could just remember what their faces looked like, he was sure he’d remember them completely.

More memories, as Seiji walk through Sendai, started to fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle. A river here, and the small store on the street corner. He eventually walked down a street opposite of an elementary school with small children laughing and playing on the playground or waiting of the sidewalk for parents.

Seiji stopped walking and stared at the children, trying to take it all in. They looked so happy and carefree.

On the street corner just outside the school there was a little boy, perhaps six or seven, waiting with a school bag slung over his shoulder. Seiji could remember standing on that same street corner. He had been six when Doctor J’s white van had pulled up to the corner.

The terror Seiji had felt all those years ago came flood back and his breath caught in his throat. It was too clear. Too real. His heart was racing wildly. He could hear his blood racing in his veins.

The door of the white van swung open and the leering, half-mechanical face of Doctor J loomed over Seiji. The man reached out with a metal hand, the gears whirring and spinning when the claws that served as fingers opened and seized Seiji by the arm. He was jerked forward, right off his feet, and dragged into the van before he could even open his mouth to scream.

Never go with strangers, sissy had always told Seiji. Don’t get in a car with strangers.

Seiji’s heart was beating so hard, he could hear it. Fear. He hadn’t felt such overpowering fear in a very long time. He couldn’t move.

A white car pulled up to the corner and Seiji felt his stop. Illogical, that would have been coronary failure and he would have been in more pain, surely. Still…he couldn’t feel his heart beat. He couldn’t breathe.

The child was going to be taken, dragged kicking and screaming into that car and Seiji couldn’t make himself move to help. He had an irrational fear, completely impossible, that it was Doctor J inside that white car. If he were to try to help, Doctor J would have him again.

The boy smiled when the door of the car opened and happily rushed forward. A woman opened the door of the car and the boy cried, "Kaasan! (mom!)" and jumped in with her. The two hugged and drove away., completely unaware of the relief their reunion had given Seiji.

Seiji felt himself release the breath he’d been holding. Seiji slowed his heart rate, willing it to a more comfortable level. The boy was safe and history was not repeating itself. Doctor J was not around. Not yet.

Turning his mind to more logical matters, Seiji reasoned that if this was where he’d been taken by Doctor J, then he must be close to his home. Sissy was supposed to have come to walk him home after school. She’d promised that she would come for him if he’d wait.

Seiji waited. He was patient until the schoolyard was empty and the children had gone home. Then he crossed the street and found the spot where his sissy had told him to wait. He stood there for a moment in the fading sunlight and just waited. No one came.

‘Of course she didn’t come. Stupid. That was years ago. Childish.’

Seiji berated himself for even thinking that she would come for him and briskly set off in the direction he believed his family’s home to be in.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Seiji didn’t notice a young woman with short black hair turn the corner just after he’d left. She walked to the spot where Seiji had been standing only moment ago and stared at the ground. “Little brother…” She’d been coming to this spot for years. Never on any particular day, but whenever she could. As if there was any hope that Seiji would come home after all this time.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The path home was not difficult to find. Though the back streets and across only two main streets. The large building was up on the hill, just as Seiji remembered it, although the prominent sign of the dojo was in sore need of repair.

DATE DOJO-ALL STUDENTS WELCOME.

‘Date. That's my name. Date Seiji.’ Perhaps this was where he belonged. The sign was hanging by one nail and near to falling down, its paint faded with weather and in sore need of a paint job. The grass of the lawn was monstrously overgrown, but Seiji waded through it to the door of the dojo.

The rest of the dojo was in as bad disrepair as the sign out front, almost to the point of falling apart. The house looked decent, though the garden Seiji remembered being full of flowers and life, was dull as if no one had cared for it in many years. Weeds had fully taken over, drowning all the once carefully tended flowers and the little water garden.

Seiji walked into the dojo first, instead of the house. It just seemed right. The dojo was a large empty room, much like the training room Doctor J had used for him, though the wooden floor and walls made this room seem more comfortable. There were pictures on the walls, paintings and drawings of men that looked like they were centuries old. There were cobwebs everywhere and dust filled the air almost the point of choking Seiji. He could almost see a man in the large, empty room. The man was only in his memory, not in the dusty, dark hall with cobwebs in the corners. The man was showing Seiji moves and correct ways to move his body to fight. He was strong and so kind. Seiji remembered he had always wanted to be just like the man.

"Who the hell are you?" A woman's voice snapped from behind Seiji. He almost went for his gun, but stopped himself. Seiji didn’t like guns. The woman’s voice was familiar, though slightly different. Seiji turned slowly, thinking that this was probably an attack. She was most likely an enemy Seiji would have to kill.

The woman was small, very slightly built with short hair and stood with her hands on her hips. No weapon and Seiji was glad for that. No weapon meant that she wasn’t an enemy and he probably won't have to kill her, now. She walked further into the neglected dojo, letting Seiji see her better and vice versa.

‘Her face! I know her!’

"Seiji?" The woman sounded as amazed as Seiji felt. Her hair was cut much shorter than Seiji remembered it. Her large eyes were even wide with disbelieve as she stared at him. "Sei-chan, is that really you?" She knew him. Recognized him. To be remembered was a miracle and for the first time in years. Seiji was happy.

Seiji nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He hadn't spoken in so long. What could he say now?

The dilemma was taken away when the woman rushed to Seiji, her arms enfolding him in a tight hug, pressing her cheek against his chest. "Oh, Seiji! I've all missed you so much! Thank God you're home! I can't believe you're alive!" She was crying now and a name is starting to form in Seiji’s mind.

"Lu...Luc?" It was not her name, Seiji remembered, but her nickname. Luc, short of Lucrecia. The one she always wanted Seiji to call her. ‘My sister.’

She looked up at Seiji and he wondered how she had gotten so small? He remembered looking up at her. "No one's called me Luc since you went missing, Sei-chan. Everyone calls me Noin, now." Noin was her middle name. Date Noin Lucrecia. Luc raised a hand and touch his dirty, tangled hair. “You can call me Luc. That’s fine. Just fine. Do you remember me, Sei-chan? Do you remember anything at all?" Her eyes were worried as she wiped the tears from her face and then touched the side of Seiji’s face gently. "We waited and waited for you. Mom and dad searched for everywhere. The police searched for months, but there was never any trace. What happened to you? Where did you go?"

Seiji just looked at her. He don't know how to explain what happened. How could he tell her how afraid he’d been? How desperately he’d wanted to go home? How could he tell her how betrayed he’d felt when mommy and daddy hadn’t come to save him? She wouldn’t understand.

Luc looks so small now, with her hair cut sharply above her ears and a part of it, like Seiji’s, falling over one of her eyes. They stayed like that for a while until Luc shook her head, getting a hold of herself. "What am I thinking, keeping you out here. Come inside the house and rest. Look at you. You must be exhausted. Looks like you just hiked across half the planet." She took Seiji by the hand and gently encouraged him into the main house. "I don't live here anymore, Seiji, I'm just here seeing that the house is all right. I come by when my work allows it. It’s a bit dusty and a real mess.” She paused when they reached the door of the house and bit her lip, thinking. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant and soft. “ Will you tell me where you've been all this time?"

"Too dangerous." Seiji really shouldn't tell her anything. If Doctor J were to find out that someone knew about what had happened to Seiji, he was sure to send people after her and Seiji wasn’t about to endanger Luc. He could live with her curiosity. He couldn’t live with her death.

Luc was curious, but she didn't press Seiji to answer and for that Seiji was grateful. He didn’t want to upset her by refusing to answer. If he didn’t please her, she wouldn’t want him. No doubt Luc had her own life now and if Seiji wasn’t careful, she could tell him to leave. Why should she keep him, after all? She probably didn’t want him complicating her life. Where would he go, if she didn‘t want him?

They went into the main house and the first thing that caught Seiji’s eye was something new, not a memory. It was a family shrine dedicated to the dead. Luc obviously noticed that Seiji had stopped to examine it and stood next to him. "Mom and dad died, Sei-chan. They died several years ago. The dojo is mine as is the house. That's why the dojo looks like a dump. After dad died, I let it go." She looked slightly ashamed. "I have so much to do, there just isn't time for the dojo. Besides, there are too many memories here. I kept thinking I was being haunted. My work usually gives me a place to live. I travel quite a bit, mostly to Africa. Heck, I practically live there. I’ll take you some time, yes? You‘ll like it, I think. Sunny and warm. Lots of room to run."

Seiji could barely remember them, but the photos of his mother and father make the memories a little clearer. He had his mother’s hair and eyes, but his father’s face. Luc had it the other way around, father’s dark hair and eyes with mother’s delicate face. Just faint images and other sensory memories showed him mother's music and father's cologne.

‘I feel...I feel...pain?’ He should feel pain at their deaths, right? Seiji thought so, but he wasn’t sure. Seiji reach out and touched the photo of their mother and father that was on display on the shrine with a fingertip.

Luc bowed to the shrine respectfully and Seiji watched her, curiously.

‘The dead are gone. Why honor what is not there? I just do not understand.’ But he didn’t say this out loud. Again, he was cautious not to make Luc angry. The house was hers. If she decided he wasn’t worth keeping around, then he would have nowhere else to go.

Luc brought Seiji into a large room with a low table in the middle and a box, like a computer screen, in the corner. "Are you hungry? Can I get you anything to eat? I don't have much in the house, but I'm sure I can find something." Luc asked eagerly. “There was some canned fruit last time I was here.”

Seiji shook his head. He knew he wouldn't be hungry for several hours yet.

"Would you like to rest, then? It’s not too comfortable here, but I can rent us an apartment in the city. Something nice and cozy.”

Again, Seiji shook his head, but this time more insistently. He didn’t want to leave. This place was safe. This place was home. ‘But I’ll go if you want me to.’ Seiji thought. ’Tell me what to do, Luc, and I’ll do it. Just don’t send me away. Please, let me stay. I need you.’

“Okay. We can just stay here.” Luc sat at the low table, on her knees, and motioned for Seiji to sit, also. "Seiji, why are you wearing a flight suit? I‘ve been wondering since I saw you. At first, I thought you were someone from the military."

Seiji looked down at himself, at the plain black body suit he was wearing. "To keep warm." He answered honestly. He’d always worn similar outfits. Why wouldn't he wear it?

"No, no. I mean, well..." Her voice trailed away as if she wasn't sure how to say what was on her mind. "I'm a pilot for the Alliance, for OZ, really. I wear a very similar suit when I'm in battle or when I’m training. Are you a pilot?"

‘The Alliance? Luc is from the Alliance?’ Instincts kicked in and Seiji almost put a hand to where his gun was concealed. He had been trained for only one thing. Kill the Alliance, destroy it. Luc was from the Alliance and that made her an enemy. But, Seiji wasn't working for Doctor J anymore. He didn't have to follow orders. Wasn’t that the main reason why Seiji had left? Yes, it was partly to be with his family again and partly because Korin had told him to escape. Mostly, it was because he didn’t want to kill anyone. Seiji let his hand drop to his side. ‘Luc is my sister and she wouldn't do wrong things. I will not kill her.’

"Seiji?" She was looking at him, puzzled. "Are you all right? You looked odd for a minute there. Was it something I said?"

Seiji shook his head.

"Will you tell me why you wear the flight suit?"

"No. If you don't like this, I will wear what will please you, Luc."

She sighed. "You'll tell me when you're ready, I'm sure, but tell me if you're in trouble, Sei-chan. I have some powerful friends and I'm sure I can help. Why don't you take a shower?" She suggested. "You look awful and I think the hot water is still working." She gave Seiji a warm smile, just happy to have him back, it seemed.

Seiji just felt grateful that he was remembered. Nothing else mattered.

A short time later, Seiji stood under the showerhead and happily let the hot water beat into him. Luc was right. The warm shower was wonderful, soaking into Seiji’s aching muscles and letting him relax for the first time in a long time. Luc had given Seiji some of their father's old clothes and sent him into the bathroom. Another place Seiji remember vividly. The whole house was exactly the same as Seiji remembered save for the fact that it seems so empty. At least it wasn’t falling apart like the dojo. Seiji scrubbed his hair thoroughly and finally got out. The cold air was a bit of a shock, but he didn’t mind. Doctor J had always made him take showers that were icy cold to condition him to unpleasant situations. Or so he said. After Seiji dried off and, with a towel wrapped around his waist, Seiji started to comb his hair, pulling and struggling to get the knots out. It took a very long time and Seiji thought about saving it all off, but he couldn’t find a razor. Finally, after much time, Seiji’s hair was loose and straight, hanging down around his face.

Luc seemed to think Seiji had to look presentable, so he combed his hair back, away from his face, before getting dressed and going out to find her again. She was in the garden, watching birds peck at the ground, and spoke before she turned to look at him. "Are you done? You take the longest showers for a boy.“ It was then that she turned around and saw him. Her face paled and then her eyes narrowed. “Shit!" She swore, violently furious. Seiji saw her lips tremble. "Sei-chan, what happened to your eye?" She stood up and put her hands up to his face. Her gaze was drawn to where Seiji’s left eye had once been.

Seiji reached up and almost touched it, but brought his hand down again. It had happened when Seiji had been far younger, after just a few months of being partnered with Heero. "Punishment."

"Who?" Luc glared at Seiji, staring at where his eye had been, at the scar tissue that covered not only where the eye had been but up to Seiji’s hairline and almost down to his chin. They'd let it heal on it's own, after all, it was only an eye, not as if it was life threatening. The skin was darkened, almost black from the electric prod Doctor J had destroyed Seiji’s eye with. He had fainted after just the first touch to his eye. When he'd woken up, the eye was gone.

Luc shook Seiji a little and drew his attention back to her. "Sei-chan! Who did this to you?" She really wanted an answer, but the truth would only bring her trouble.

Seiji could see it disgusted her to just look at the missing eye, so he ran his fingers through his hair and let it fall over half of his face as it had been when he'd first arrived. She didn't have to look at it. The last thing Seiji wanted to do was cause her pain.

She took Seiji’s arm and gave him a little pull. "Sei-chan, we have to get you to a hospital! Get a doctor to see it!"

‘No!’ Seiji pulled away sharply, almost knocking Luc over and started back away into the house, shaking his head. ‘No, I will not go to any doctor!’

"Sei-chan, please, maybe someone can help you."

Again, Seiji shook his head. "It's old. No danger." ‘I will NOT go! No doctors!’

Luc was almost in tears, but nodded. "Whatever you want, Sei-chan. But I will have someone look at it, no doctor, I promise. As soon as he comes back from his mission, I have a friend who has a little medical knowledge."


Several days later-


Several days passed and Seiji found that the world was very much different than he'd expected. Luc, for Seiji’s sake, she said, moved back into their home. "I had to ask for a leave of absence, but luckily for us, my commanding officers are good friends of mine. I have about as much time as I need. They even let me transfer to the city for a few months when I told them about you. I don't know how long I'll have here, but when I have to go back to work, you can come live with me. Trust me, you‘ll love Africa."

Seiji nodded. The house was important, but not as important as Luc. It really didn't matter where they lived so long as no one took him away from Luc, again. Seiji want to stay with her and protect her. She said she was a pilot. Seiji hoped her job wasn’t too dangerous. Maybe she was trained like he was. That wasn’t a very pleasant thought.

Luc tried very hard to make life as comfortable for Seiji as possible, but how could he tell her just being there, with her, was enough? Seiji was so tired of being alone. She never once mentioned sending him away and Seiji filled up his days with cleaning and repairing the house and dojo. Even if Luc didn’t intend to stay there permanently, it made him feel good to be doing something useful.

Seiji stayed mainly in the house, still fearing that Doctor J might be lurking around looking for him, and Luc went out every day to work. Luc went into the city most days for her other job. Normally, she trained pilots for OZ, a part of the Alliance's military, but while they were in the area, she was working as a part of someone's staff. Someone named Treize Khushrenada, the commander of the Alliance.

Seiji missed her when she was gone and feared, several times, that she wouldn’t come back. She always did, though. Every night she came home tired and worn out, carrying a bag of take-out. One night she even brought home clothes for Seiji. Piles of clothes like Seiji had seen other teenagers wearing his first day in the city. “You can’t wear a flight suit all the time and dad’s clothes just don’t fit you right. All the teenager boys seem to be wearing things like this. Not quite fashionable, but you can’t go wrong with t-shirt and jeans.” The jeans were all dark blue, but Luc had bought a rainbow of t-shirts. Green, red, orange, white, black and every other color.

Their habits of Luc going out to work and Seiji staying at home were comfortable and Seiji was starting to almost feel safe after about three weeks. Seiji rarely left the confines of the house, preferring to read in Luc's small library or practice with their mother's wooden flute he’d found in their parent’s bedroom than to going out anywhere. He couldn’t think of a reason why he should want to leave. One night Seiji’s comfort and feeling of safety was challenged when Luc called him on the telephone one afternoon.

"I forgot my lunch at home, Sei-chan. Can you bring it to the city hospital? I'll be on floor sixty-eight." She paused. “I’m sorry to ask. I’d come and get it myself I could spare the time. I’m really sorry to ask, Sei-chan.” She knew he didn’t like leaving the house, but Seiji knew she wouldn’t lie to him.

“I will come.” He found her lunch easily enough where she'd forgotten it on the kitchen table. The trip through the city was a challenge. Seiji was still amazed at the number of people all pushing and shoving for space when there seemed to be none. It was almost impossible to avoid touching people. Cars sped by and Seiji had to ask for directs when he couldn't find the hospital.

Hospitals were another thing to conquer because hospitals meant doctors.

As the large building came into view, Seiji felt a strange feeling in his chest. His heart was beating to rapidly, and he had to work to settle it down. It was just like his first day in Sendai when he’d seen the white car pull up in front of the little boy near the school. It was fear and Seiji hated the feeling. Being afraid made him feel helpless, although it did give him a perverse satisfaction to know at least part of Doctor J’s training hadn’t worked.

Inside was even worse. The halls of the hospital smelled like antiseptic, and the walls were a sickening green. Seiji paused in a room with small children waiting with their parents. There was a woman at a desk and, as Seiji didn't know his way around, he went to her. It seemed like the most efficient action.

"Floor sixty-eight." Seiji said flatly, expecting a fast answer.

The woman looked at him over her large glasses. "What can I do for you, honey? You don't look hurt or sick."

Seiji looked back at the woman, confused. He just wanted to know where floor sixty-eight was.

She waited impatiently for a minute. "Well? Have you been hurt or are you just here visiting someone?"

"Visiting."

"Well, take the elevator, honey." She gestured to where it was, on a wall. As Seiji walked toward the elevator, he saw a white coat out of the corner of his eye. He didn't slow, even as his heart started pounding again and he could feel himself starting to sweat with fear.

The man was very ordinary looking, with short dark hair and glasses, but he also wore the white coat of Seiji’s nightmares. They both walked into the elevator at the same time and Seiji was trapped.

"What floor, kid?" The doctor asked with a pleasant smile as his fingers hovered over the buttons.

"Sixty-eight." Seiji had to struggle to speak passed the lump in his throat. Seiji stood as far from the doctor as he possibly could without looking obvious. The doctor pushed the button and ignored Seiji for the ride up, but Seiji couldn’t ignore him. ‘He's going to hurt me. I just know it. He's going to take me back to Doctor J.’

The elevator stopped a few floors away from floor sixty-eight to let on three more doctors. This has to be a nightmare! They are talking and laughing with each other about some gossip going around their hospital. How can they be so friendly? Doctors are evil.

Finally, the elevator stopped at floor sixty-eight and Seiji left as quickly as he could. To his relief, all four doctors stay on the elevator and continue up, away from him. He was amazed. They hadn’t hurt him. They didn’t even touch him. They’d barely looked at him. Seiji almost smiled.

The next mission was to find Luc. Seiji took a deep breath before looking for her. His hands were shaking and it worried him. It only showed others how he felt and that was very, very dangerous. He had to have control. The doctors hadn’t hurt him and he was safe. There was no reason to be afraid.

Luc was filling out papers when Seiji finally found her. She was dressed in her uniform and looked very serious. "Thanks, Sei-chan." She smiled, accepting the bag of food. "Oh, this is a dear friend, Zechs."

He was very tall, much taller than Seiji. The most astonishing thing about him was obviously the mask he wore. The mask covered his whole face and his head, letting his long, fair hair fall down below his shoulders. It was such a pale blonde that it was nearly white. The mask was highly polished and had the vague shape of a bird’s head. Zechs had been standing very still at a large window that looked into one of the hospital rooms with his hands clasped behind his back, but when Luc had spoken, he’d turned to Seiji and bowed, politely. “Good afternoon. I’m Zechs Marquis.”

A bow was expected, Seiji remembered. Doctor J and the trainers working for him had never been overly concerned with manners, but Luc was and Seiji wanted to please her. He remembered this sort of thing from childhood and bowed to Zechs as he remembered seeing his grandfather bow. Feeling very proud of himself for remembering, Seiji stepped away and turned to look at Luc again. As he was turning, his eye fell on who was in the hospital room Zechs had been looking in.

Heero! The shock of seeing Heero laying in the hospital bed almost made Seiji gasp. Seiji managed to keep his mouth shut and hoped that nothing had shown on his face. Heero, Seiji’s former partner, lay in the hospital bed, deathly pale and with his head wrapped in bandages. Over the white blanket that covered him were three wide leather straps, binding him to the bed. How could Heero, Doctor J’s perfect creation, have ended up like this? Seiji could feel he was close to death.

Obviously, Heero had been sent to find Seiji. The plans for operation Meter weren’t due to start for a few weeks and Seiji’s escape was a major security risk for Doctor J. Logic said that Heero was here for Seiji. Logic also said that Seiji should take this opportunity to kill Heero.

It would be a good opportunity to get rid of Heero. He was helpless and that wasn’t likely to happen often. Not that Seiji was very familiar with Heero, anymore, but he was familiar with Doctor J’s training methods. Being the sole focused of Doctor J’s attentions since Seiji had been virtually discarded, Heero was most likely much stronger in every way than Seiji. Heero death would make Luc safer. The weight of Seiji’s gun, hidden under his jacket, felt suddenly heavier as he pondered the question.

Heero was also Seiji’s friend. He was the one who'd rubbed Seiji’s aching muscles after a hard day training and Seiji had popped Heero’s dislocated shoulder back into place more than once. They’d even slept in the same bed for six months before being separated. When the heating would fail to come on, they would hold each other at night.

To kill or not to kill?

Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

"Is something wrong, Sei-chan?" Luc asked.

She would not be happy if Seiji killed Heero. Luc didn't even know Seiji had the gun, but it was habit to carry the thing now. "No." Seiji answered. "Nothing is wrong. What happened to him?"

"He tried to kill himself, the silly fool." Zechs answered. "He came very close to succeeding, also. We're just trying to find out who he is and why he was snooping around an Alliance base."

"He may yet die." Luc added, sounding sad. "He's only a child, not any older than you, Sei-chan. I still don't understand what he was doing at the base, in the first place. He actually put a gun to his own head and fired it!" She seemed outraged at the attempted suicide, but Seiji wasn’t sure why. It's what Seiji would have done in his situation. Isn't that how other soldiers are trained?

"He must be a spy of some kind." Zechs answered. "Why else would he have been looking in the Alliances' data base? The information he was looking for must have been very important if he was willing to kill himself for it. I just want to know who's the monster training kids as fighters."

Seiji knew that Luc wanted Heero to live, but he wasn’t sure why. What connection could she possibly have to him? If Heero was simply here as a spy, then he wasn't looking for Seiji. If he was looking for Seiji, did he think Seiji had gone to the Alliance for safety? Oh, well. It wasn’t Seij’s role to question. "I will save him for you, Luc." With that, Seiji walked around them and went to the door of the room.

"That's very thoughtful, Sei-chan," Luc said. "But I'm not sure you..."

Seiji turned the doorknob and found it locked. A simple problem. Seiji gave it as hard a twist as he could, breaking the lock and walked into the room, ignoring the startled look Luc gave Seiji.

Confidently, Seiji put a hand on Heero's chest and healed him. Seiji wasn’t sure how he did it, but he did know he could heal people. He’d never done this sort of thing before that day and Seiji don't know where the power came from, but Seiji knew it was there. He helped Heero's body to heal itself and, when he was sure Heero would live, Seiji took his hand away.

Luc and Zechs were, by that time, in the room with Seiji and when he was finished he looked at them. "He will now live."

Luc blinked and then turned a savage look to Zechs. "If Treize finds out about this, I will rip your lungs out! Do you understand?"


Noin-


Noin knew exactly what Treize would do if he found out there was someone who could heal so easily as just touching a person. Seiji would be dragged into OZ with little or no say in the matter. Treize was a very nice person, heck, he was one of Noin’s best friends, but he was also very determined to win the war he wanted to begin. He would, Noin didn’t doubt, treat Seiji well. But, Noin wouldn't have her baby brother taken away again!

"Yes, Noin." Zechs agreed, but Noin hoped his honor would hold up. Noin knew for a fact that he had a terrible crush on Treize and tended to give the man whatever he wanted.

Seiji turns to leave, no doubt going back home, but Noin call to him and he obediently came to stand in front of her. It frightened Noin. No one was supposed to be as unfailingly obedient as Seiji was. Especially not a teenager. She hadn‘t been, as a teenager. "Sei-chan, Zechs is the friend I wanted to have look at your eye." Then Noin looked at Zechs. "Someone, I think, burned his eye out. Will you look at it and tell me if anything can be done? He won't see a doctor for some reason."

Zechs nodded and motioned for Seiji to come closer. Carefully, Zechs pulled back Seiji's hair and, to his credit, didn’t react at all to the sight of Seiji's dead, charred skin or the badly sewn shut eye. It looked as if someone had deliberately held a white-hot iron to his eye. "How old were you when this happened?"

"Seven."

Zechs was angry, Noin could tell by the way his lips tighten into a thin line, but he didn't show it to Seiji. Noin was angry, too, but she’d heard this before. It was one of the little drops of information Seiji would give her about his time away from her. Noin couldn’t help but want to kill whoever did this and it worried her that Seiji wouldn’t tell her who had done it.

"Well," Zechs let Seiji's hair fall back into place. "I'm sure we can have an artificial eye made to match the other one, but there's no way to save it. I'm sorry, but it's been dead for a long time."

Seiji nodded, sharply, as if it didn't matter, and looked at Noin. "I'm going home." He stated, and this time he left.

Noin took another look at Seiji before the elevator door closed behind him and looking back to the nameless Gundam pilot they'd captured. "So, that's the brother you've been telling me about." Zechs commented. The medical computers were showing that the pilot was now in perfect health. This was definitely not natural. “You realize he had a gun under his jacket, didn’t you?”

Noin nodded, frowning sadly after Seiji. “He’s had it since he arrived. I don‘t think he thinks I know about it. He hasn’t used it, though.“ She gave Zechs a grateful smile. “Thanks for letting him in.“

“I trust your judgment.” The scanners and security guards monitoring the Alliance’s hospital had noticed Seiji’s weapon and it was only thank to Zechs that Seiji had been let in without any trouble. When the guards had reported it to Zechs, being the highest ranking soldier in the building, Zechs had listened to Noin and let Seiji through. The ‘doctors’ who’d ridden in the elevator with Seiji weren’t doctors. They had been security guards sent to watch him until he was with Zechs and Noin whom, it was thought, could look after the situation. On his way down, Seiji would no doubt find himself in another elevator full of doctors.

“He disappeared when he was only six and turned up at the dojo last week. You remember I told you about my grandfather's dojo? There's something wrong with him, Zechs. He won't talk, not unless you speak to him first and he either can't or won't tell me where he's been for the last nine years. Then there's his eye. Who would do that to a seven-year-old?" Noin wanted to cry, but didn't let herself. Seiji had the face of an angel, who would want to take that from him?

Noin could still see him as a child, his golden cloud of hair floating around his face as he runs around the back garden of their home. He had been the most loving child anyone could hope to meet, very trusting and open. Seiji would run to Noin and holds his arms out to her. "Dance with me, Luc!" He cried with a smile.

Mother had been playing her wooden flute and father busied himself lighting the lanterns while night creeps forward. Even the fireflies danced in the moonlight. "Sure." Noin took Seiji's hands and let him stand on her feet. Together they would prance around the back garden until they couldn’t stop laughing as mother changed her music from soft and gentle to a faster paced beat for them to dance to. Father had smiled and laughed with them as he hugged mother from behind. Life had been perfect.

Then Noin’s life had been torn apart when Seiji wasn't waiting for her after school one blustery spring afternoon. It had been Noin’s job to pick him up after his first day of kindergarten. Noin was older that Seiji, six years older, so she had been given the responsibility to walk him home everyday. Seiji hadn’t been waiting outside the school where he said he would be. He wasn't at home when Noin got there. Their father and mother had done everything they could have done, but no one had any idea where Seiji had gone. Then one child from the school had come forward and said something about a white van and a man (they couldn't remember what he looked like) grabbing Seiji. They never learned anything else.

For many years Noin suffered from guilt. If only she’d gotten there sooner, or if she’d told Seiji to wait inside the school for her instead of on the street corner, he might not have been kidnapped. Their mother died first, from cancer, and father followed with a heart attack. Noin had been left alone on her nineteenth birthday. All alone.

The only thing that kept Noin going was Zechs, her best friend. He’d managed to talk her into going to college when Noin had just wanted to lay down and die. It was Zechs who had taken Noin to therapy when the depression set in and it was through Zechs that Noin had learned about OZ and Treize. Noin dedicated her life to OZ, making herself the best pilot and, later, instructor possible. It was difficult, but it filled the gaps left by her missing family.

Now, Seiji was back. Wearing a military style, skin tight flight suit, a solemn expression that never seemed to change, and hurt so deep in his one eye that Noin almost couldn‘t bear to look him in the eye. Noin had seen how Seiji had looked at the injured boy that had been captured. Recognition. She was sure Zechs had seen it, too. How could Seiji know that boy? Military style uniform and recognizing a spy. The pieces of the puzzle that were Seiji’s life were starting to become clear, but Noin didn’t like what she was seeing. It was a dark picture.

‘God, what happened to my baby brother?’

"Maybe he can't talk about it." Zechs suggested, bringing Noin back to their conversation. "If he's been traumatized by whatever happened, it might have effected his mind. You don't know what kind of torture or abuse he might have suffered while he was gone and nine years is a long time."

Noin hugged herself, not wanting to think of Seiji being hurt or, even worse, 'touched'. "Maybe you're right. But how can you explain this?" Noin pointed to the healed pilot. "How did Seiji do that?"

Zechs remained silent.

They left after a short while. There was nothing more they could do here and there were reports to file.




In the hospital room, the brown haired spy’s eyes opened the moment he was alone. Time to get out. He had a mission to accomplish.


Later-
The Date House-


Noin stood on the porch of the house she’d grown up in and watched Seiji putter in the garden. It had been almost three weeks since she’d come home to find him standing in the middle of the dojo and almost nothing had changed. The black flight-suit was gone, replaced by blue jeans and white t-shirt. He looked almost like any other teenage boy on the street. The problem was that he didn’t ACT like other teenagers.

‘The problem is that he doesn’t know any normal teenagers.’ She thought, taking a sip of coffee. She needed the caffeine. Twenty-four hour shifts were Hell. ‘He never leaves the house unless I ask him to and then he just does what he has to do and comes back. I don’t think he even talks to anyone but me. He didn’t even like Zechs. Or maybe he did, but he didn’t smile or show that he might like Zechs. And what was that with the boy in the hospital?’ The boy who, Noin had been told, escaped only hours after she and Zechs had left the hospital. She hadn’t told Seiji. There was nothing he could do about it one way or the other, so why worry him?

It frightened Noin when she thought about seeing Seiji do…well…whatever it was that he’d done to heal the boy. To heal someone with just a touch was miraculous. It was amazing. It was also impossible. No one could heal just by touching, it was like something out of a fairytale and Noin had stopped believing in such things a long time ago. ‘There was a glow around them. A greenish light. That boy should have died. I watched him shot himself in the head.’ She remember it too clearly. A skinny, angry looking kid…blood everywhere. A kid with the same lost eyes Seiji had. ‘There’s a connection. Seiji knew him. I’m sure of it.’ It frightened her all the more to know that she could see Seiji standing in that boy’s place. She could picture Seiji carelessly holding a gun to his own head and pulling the trigger without hesitation.

“Sei-chan,” Noin waited until Seiji had turned around and looked at her. The mangled part of his face, his eye and the surrounding area, were covered by his hair and Noin thought that it must be her fault he kept his face hidden. She should have handled herself a little better when she first saw it. How could any sister handle that well? Noin shuddered at the memory. A dead eye and all that awful scarring. “You’re going to start school next week.”

Seiji nodded mutely and Noin had expected nothing more. He never spoke without reason.

“Is it okay with you, Sei-chan? We can wait, if you want. A couple of more weeks until you get settled won’t make much difference.”

“You wish me to begin next week?”

“Yup. It’d be nice for you to make a few friends. You need to get to know more people than just me.”

“I know Zechs.”

“You won’t see much of him, though. He’s an officer, in charge of a lot of people. Besides, you need friends your own age. I think school’s the best way to do that.” Noin had come to the decision a few days after the incident at the hospital. It was obvious that Seiji needed something, but Noin just wasn't entirely sure about what that something was. He refused to go see any kind of doctor or therapist when Noin had suggested it, almost seemed afraid of the idea. Even going to the hospital to drop off Noin’s lunch seemed hard on him, though he'd done it without complaint. The solution was so simple, when it hit Noin, that she was ashamed she hadn’t thought of it sooner.

“Then I will begin next week.” Seiji turned back to the garden with his little spade and went back to turning over the soil..