“What?!”

            Quatre took a step back; surprised by the verbal irritation Duo was showing when the braided boy opened his door. But they needed to meet that moment, and no hot reception was going to stop him. The need was very urgent.

              “Duo, how are you?” he began, smiling faintly.

              The said person, who was there before him, was breathing deeply, holding the door wide open. Stress and anger were evident in his eyes, along with the need to be alone. Quatre then noticed the sadness lurking within the violet depths, added by his rugged appearance. His jacket hung loosely from his shoulder, and the collar of his red shirt was uneven, stretched in all places. He wasn’t even wearing his shoes, and even his seemingly ever-perfect braid seemed stringy and out of place.

              “Quatre… I don’t feel like talking about any of your new missions right now,” he said tiredly, his voice filled with fatigue and tinges of sadness, more along with annoyance. “I’m asking you to leave,” he spoke with a steady voice, as if finalizing the phrase. He seemed to be having difficulty keeping his formality polite. “And not to bother me for now. If you don’t, I might do something you wouldn’t like.”

              And without waiting for a reply, he tried to shut the door close. But Quatre, all of a sudden too much bothered by Duo’s condition, knew what he had to do and stopped him. “Duo, wait.” Pushing with all his might, he tried to prevent the door from closing.

              Duo struggled with his reprise, but seemed too muddle headed to do much. Quatre pushed on the door with all his strength, and eventually won over and had succeeded in putting it out of the way. Duo stared at him defiantly, his eyes glittering with new anger. “Look, I warned you, Quatre. Leave me.”

Quatre ignored him, “Duo, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t reply immediately, “You don’t need to know, Quatre. Not now.”

He was suddenly so stricken, and he started shaking angrily. He started to point to the door. “Leave now!” he ordered, as he fought to stop himself from attacking Quatre. The latter, immediately noticing his intention was quick enough to move behind him and lock his arms to prevent a brawl.

“Duo, stop it,” he said trying to soothe the boy’s angry nerves. He started with his conclusions: “You have to listen to me. You haven’t been eating for days. You haven’t been taking your baths either. You’ve been drinking. What happened?”

            The boy didn’t reply, but he stopped struggling, and a sob escaped his throat. Only his deep breaths filled the air with sounds.

            “Duo…”

            “She’s left, damn it!” he slurred before falling to his knees on the ground. “Leave me alone…” he whispered tiredly.

            Quatre’s eyes narrowed with confusion, but when he saw the ruined house, he finally understood. “I see.”

~~~ 

 
           Heero watched Hilde as she tried to divert his attention from her earlier reaction. She smiled, “Hello Heero. Come in,” she motioned toward the table.  

            He particularly didn’t want to, but having an urge from within, did so and entered the dining room.

            One thing he noticed about the house, Duo was not there. There were no tracking devices, for he had immediately followed the standard rule and set his own machine detector the moment he came there, for precaution. So she hadn’t been lying, surprising. Another thing was the fact that, no matter how unattractive unpainted wooden houses were, it actually looked comfortable. 

His eyes traveled, and then noticed that there was old style furniture with light, airy drapes, and velvet cushions that lined the chairs… he didn’t sit down.

            He watched Hilde as she moved about, drawing the curtains open to allow more of the cold air from the rain in. It felt strange, he perceived; staying in a room while watching a woman set it for you. His eyes narrowed over the unnerving stress he was feeling. “Where is he?”

            Hilde paused while holding a large drape. She slowly turned to him, “Who ‘he’?” she asked, her eyes bewildered and curious.

              Was she playing innocent? “I’ve always seen you with the talkative pilot. You know who he is. Duo Maxwell is probably here somewhere.”

            He was shocked when she suddenly looked forlorn. Her eyes lost their sparkle and she looked away, “He’s not here.” She said quietly.

            He didn’t speak after that.

            Hilde faced the window, “He doesn’t even know I’m here. But he couldn’t find out. He shouldn’t,” she said resolutely, as if talking to herself.

            He wondered what she was talking about, and all former questions rose again within him, sizing up and seemingly wanting to quench free. But he knew that asking so soon would be a mistake, and it would have probably hurt or befuddle her. So he kept silent, only to be diverted when she turned to him again with another smile.

            “Sit down, Heero. Make yourself comfortable.” She opened the windows; “You can stay here as long as you like.”

            As long as he liked? Then he’d be damned; he wouldn’t choose to stay there for even an hour! But his own thoughts were contradicted with the reasons he had for being there in the first place.

            In the spur of the moment, the sudden turn of events all the more confused him, along with Relena’s rejection, the sudden hunt for him, and the deaths he had been the cause of. All of them were then finished by this new problem he had gotten in to.

He suddenly tensed and was filled with frustration and rage. The sudden effect was then lashed together by the abrupt decision to leave, and threaten to hurt Hilde if she dared to stop him. But he was interrupted when he saw the view shown outside of the window.

            There stood a beautiful garden, garnered fresh by the rain, creating a beautiful, whitish mist about it. An assortment of greens, all blending to form a beautiful milieu huddled together perfectly, as if performing a silent dance. Series of flowers all lined to form the perfection of the place. A sweetly provocative scene besieged him, one that offered you to go there and hide in their beauty and their shade forever.

            He stood there, an awed, yet coy look on his face as he stared at it. How can human hands create such a place? He then turned to Hilde, who stared at it with pride, “Beautiful, isn’t it? The rain seems to create jewels from the plants. Someone else started it, but I’ve been secretly coming here time and time to fix it and arrange it. My,” she exclaimed, running a hand over one of her arms, “it sure did take the strength out of me yesterday.”

She looked at his disbelieving face, “Heero, it’s not hard. All it takes is the love for what you’re doing, a reason for doing it, and determination. That’s what they said, and that’s what I believe.”

The love for what you’re doing… a reason… determination… Who are ‘they’?

He pondered at her words. He had always been observant, but never without a purpose, like now. However, her words beckoned him. And they seemed so true.  

            Hilde then averted her eyes from the garden and turned to him. “Now, let’s get your wounds done. That one on your shoulder seems mighty painful, isn’t it? It looks like it will never be healed. But it’s all the blood isn’t it?”

            Maybe. He silently concluded, drawing from his recent distraction.

            She laughed at his supposed silence and went to the side of the room on the drawer. There she removed a piece of wash cloth and a box of cleaning aids. “But I guess it won’t be as painful, since you’ve always been used to such bruises -“

            I have.

“-Come and sit, I’ll do the rest.”

            He sat down to appease her. And his wound was getting painful. He acknowledged her words, though, and agreed with them silently.

            She pulled out a bottle of antiseptic and stood up to take a basin of water from the kitchen. Heero waited for her to return while varying the contents of the kit. Cotton, gauze, scissors... all useful, he concluded, if not quite rusty from time. She lacked more supplies, though. And her house could barely keep anyone safe; it lacked protection, and proper communication, added by insufficient transportation. His thoughts stopped when she came back and knelt on the floor beside him, starting with her medication.

            She touched his wound, and he immediately took his hand away. He then noticed the exhausted, sympathizing, and hurt look in her eyes. He was suddenly unexplainably alarmed and turned to say something, but she already began.

            “Don’t worry Heero, I know how to do this. I’ve been trained for this.” She assured him, concentrating on his wound as she began to touch it with the cloth again.

He tensed and sighed, then kept silent. An admission came to himself in the presence of stillness: that it wasn’t because of the pain, or the distrust in her, as he just realized; he had never had someone touch him… maybe, if the purpose was to hurt him. Relena had been different, of course, but her visage seemed blurry to him already. Removing the unprecedented tension in his mind, he stared wordlessly as she began to wash his wound and to remove the dirt, ignoring the fire-like sensation spreading in his arm.

He concentrated on her face, more importantly, trying not to take attention to the fact that someone was holding his arm.

            “Heero,” she added as she looked into his eyes - this time, more meaningfully, “I won’t hurt you.”  

            He then gasped, not knowing if it was because of her words or because she had begun to apply antiseptic in his arm. But Hilde took no notice to this; “I will never do that, Heero. To you, or to anyone. That’s why I’m here, to prevent anyone from being hurt. Stay here.”

            And they didn’t speak anymore.

            “You say Heero did what?” Duo groaned, clutching his head. His case of hangover from the drinking was still at its worst.

            “Heero is on the wanted list. He set the SCS Embassy on fire by activating a bomb in it. He was said to join the assassin group just before the assignment. Now he’s missing,” Wufei repeated for him, then he faced the window silently.

Duo looked up, “Well, why for? Heero is not that kind of person.”

            Trowa nodded, “That’s why we’re here. We all know what’s happened, the question is, why?”

            Duo continued, “But, hey, shouldn’t we be leaving Heero in on this? After all, what he does is his own business. Sure, they may all be a part of something he knows in advance and all other mysterious stuff, but we’ve had our share of that. Heero always knows what he’s doing, and he could take care of himself.

“And another thing is the fact that we don’t have our Gundams anymore. No offense, Wufei,” he added hastily, “But our Gundams are the only things that kept us tied to each other.”

            Quatre nodded. “I know. But that is just a part of it. The main reason we’re here is because of another issue, probably related to Heero as well.”

            When silence followed, he continued, “The assassins did something that might as well have ruined our ties with Space Colonial Stars. It seems as if someone is out there with another plan again.”

            “What do you mean?” Trowa asked, “Weren’t the assassins the ones who wanted it that way? And all the men were caught. That should conclude that the danger is over.”

            “No,” it was Wufei who answered the question for Trowa, “I’ve been watching out on this, and there was what they said to be the “Source.” A person they cannot possibly ‘throw in’ and reveal.  It was going to be useless, so they said, for they, themselves, didn’t know much about the person who ordered them to do so. A stupid decision, actually, but all they were concerned about was the money.”

            “So what you’re saying is…”

            “The so-called Source, the influential Source. Who is he? What are his plans? Obviously, the person has all the essential factors for strength: the money, the power and the mind. There is something behind this whole façade,” Quatre responded, sipping on his tea. “More or less, it couldn’t be just one man, it must be a faction, a group. If worse, a new and secret organization. Space Colonial Stars had always been the target for everything, you must understand. It will cause the weakening of ties, and eventual warfare.”

            “But that’s not our duty anymore.”

            They all turned to Duo, who had a glazed look in his eyes. “I miss those days, and I will never forget my Shinigami, but the protection of both Earth and the Space colonies are no longer part of our concerns. It has nothing to do with us, and we can’t do anything about it either.”

            “That’s where you’re wrong.”

            Wufei stopped from his staring post by the window. “We are not useless. We can do something.”

            It was even fortunate enough for them to have Wufei in the group. The man, too much stubborn and independent, had switched sides before, and was the only one who didn’t have his own Gundam self-destructed. Getting him to cooperate was hard enough, and Quatre was pleased by his determination.

            “Wufei,” Duo quietly began, and Quatre then saw the maturity the so-called “naughty” boy had grown over the years, “You’re the only one with your Gundam.” Trowa nodded, his face serious.

            “That shouldn’t be looked at as that way,” Quatre intervened. “We should look at that as an asset. We’re lucky enough to have his Gundam for help. And we’re still connected to the event.”

            Trowa nodded, “I understand.”

            Duo saw this, “You mean…”

            “Yes,” Quatre affirmed. “Even without our Gundams, or even years from now, the protection of both places will always be our responsibility, even from the start. Though the real intentions were different, we have already bonded ourselves to such an obligation. If we won't start, I doubt anyone will, and no one else will be more capable.”

            Duo sighed, “If you put it that way… I will understand - and wait, what about Heero?”

            Quatre nodded, “This is where he comes in, and us as well. He was a part of the assassin group; he could know something. Though his sudden turn of sides surprises me, and even brings in uncertainty, his attachment to the event still pulls us nearer to obligation.”

            Duo nodded, “Then what must we do?”

            “We must contact the real, known protectors.” Quatre answered, glancing at Wufei.

            “Preventers.”

            “Why are you doing this?” Heero asked, after hours of silence.

            Hilde set down a plate before him. “You mean helping you?”

            He nodded, tentatively taking a fork. His eyes suddenly flashed suspiciously, as if noticing something. But the gleam immediately faded, causing her wonder to cease. She dismissed the intuition.

            At least he’s eating, a good sign, she thought. She then sat too, facing him. “Because I had to? I don’t know.”

            Heero had a confused look on his face, but he tried to conceal it. She laughed, “No, Heero. What if I put it this way? Why did you do it?”

            His eyes shot from the food to form a glare at her. Such that would have intimidated anyone else, but not her, she had already been used to that, “I’m not demanding you for an answer, Heero, I’m asking you to think. Why did you follow me when you know I might as well turn you in? Why did you bomb the building? Now, there’s a reason for you to do that, right?

“Everything, every event that happens in your life has a reason and a purpose, in my opinion. No matter how concealed that reason is, it will always be there, and it will always be right, will always be for your own good. The outcome will depend on how you carry and accept this 'reason.' And somehow, I felt that I needed to take you in, I believe that there is a reason to make up for why I did that, but I still can’t see it right now. It will come, though.”

She stopped and held out a bowl to him, “Noodles?”  

"Sorry if my useless chattering gets to you. Someone gave me all those philosophies and stubbornly refused to give up until I accepted them. Duo claims I drive him mad with them sometimes."

            He stopped staring at her, finally putting the thought into further comprehension. And just as she was about to give up and put the bowl back down, he took it from her hands and placed an amount on his plate. She smiled.

            What did she know?

            Heero ate without a sound, willing his body to relax and his mind to think. He then stared at her. This was just the woman his fellow Gundam Pilot was doing a joint business with, probably his friend or someone more than that at most. It was ironic for them to be in such a situation upon this time. He never thought that he would find himself wondering about the woman, who was never related to him.

            Yet, now, it all of a sudden seemed to his senses that this girl was a lot deeper, somewhere he couldn’t reach. It vaguely felt like reaching out to touch a mystifying object, only to find out that it was blocked by colorless glass. To drop something in a shallow well, then discovering that it was a lot deeper than it seemed, endless. And now he was becoming analogous, yet it was the truth. He shook his head, confusion and irritation filling him.

            “Heero,” she said, breaking him off his thoughts, he turned to her. “You’re being here has a reason too.”

            Quatre saw Duo lounging by the window, staring at the vast landscape from outside the aircraft. His eyes were sullen, serious, and his brows were drawn tight in concentration. No, he wasn’t watching the view, he was thinking. Quatre sighed, now was the time to talk.

            “Duo, are you alright?”

            Duo heard him, and took time in facing him. He just continuously watched the scenery, contemplating deeply to himself. Quatre had to wait for him for awhile. But when the man had gathered his thoughts, he finally turned to him. He then offered him a small smile, “Me? Alright? Sure... I guess." He paused, and then sighed, "I mean, there are no life threatening problems so far, right?" And then, out of the blue, he turned away. "Oh-- what's wrong?"

            Quatre shook his head and approached him. Now what kind of response was that? But it surely answered Quatre's suspicions. “Yes Duo, you gave me the right question, the one I must ask you. What’s wrong?”

            Duo stopped; slightly shocked by the abrupt and straightforward question Quatre had given him. And when the answer to the blonde boy’s question came back to his thinking, his eyes glazed once more, and he gasped. But then, realizing that it was of no use, he just sighed and looked away. “Quatre, I’m so sorry, about, you know… what happened that day. I was having some problems accepting my situation. I was just…”

            Quatre faced the window; “She left.”

            Duo followed him, and suddenly broke into an emotional, yet deathly grim frenzy, “Quatre, I didn’t even know why. Why: that’s all I needed," he said quietly. "She wouldn’t have done that without a reason, and I can’t think of something. She’s out there, Quatre, and I know there's some mystery about where she came from. She might be hiding from something.

“The stupid tomboy took off without giving me a word or a clue. I don’t know where she is, and I can’t protect her, or follow her, or demand a reason…” I should have known. He shook his head and turned to look away; as if he was embarrassed, or ashamed by the sudden display of emotion, yet desperately needing to release everything out.

            Quatre nodded, smiling. He had never seen him so passionate before. “I think I know why, Duo. But why do you think did she leave? Where you ever… romantically involved?”

            Duo laughed at Quatre’s attempts to be modest, and the latter joined him in their mirth. “Yes. Heck, I’m willing to admit that. I love her. It took the longest time to accept that complete realization; I thought that even if I knew my feelings, I could never open up to the idea of a full and deep commitment. And then there was my past. But there was just… something about her that reached out to me.” Suddenly lost in memory, he started babbling, a slightly mischievous look in his eyes. “Maybe it was the way she pouted whenever I teased her, or how she smiled whenever I allowed her to win. Once again, I don’t have to prove that.”  

Suddenly, his dark violet eyes narrowed, “Things were fine and there were no problems at all. We were heading for a good future. And when she left…”

            Quatre probed, “Why did she leave, then?”

            Duo shook his head, “I don’t know, we never really fought. Not like that anyway. I keep on looking for reasons, you know? And yet…” He sighed. But in the same second, he suddenly became contemplative. “But maybe it’s related to what happened a few days before…”

            “What was that?” Quatre asked.

Duo stared at the distance, seeking to explain to himself as well. “I’m not sure. She suddenly started being nervous. Like someone was watching our every move. She kept on making me promise to take care of myself,” he sighed, “I was really worried. I knew there was something wrong, I just couldn’t… point it out. And when I woke up… she was gone. It didn’t seem like there was something wrong with us… or maybe there was, but I didn’t see it.”

He suddenly looked terribly confused, not to mention beyond angry. “Quatre, I don’t know why the idiot left! Or where she went so I could even try to follow her. If I have to drag her back, heck I would. I don’t know what to do -“

            “Calm down, Duo. It doesn’t seem likely for Miss Hilde to leave without a word because of a problem with you. She is outspoken, innocent and is very straightforward and honest, as I have observed. She would probably confront you about it.” Quatre began, trying to soothe him.

            “Then why didn’t she, Quatre? Was there something she was hiding from me?” He whispered mournfully. “She couldn’t have left me. No, I can’t live with that, I can’t accept that. Not when I...”

             The braided man grew quiet. Quatre sighed. “Don’t worry, Duo. We will.”

 

 

 

            He jumped from the window of his room, landing with experienced stealth. Not making a sound, he made his way through the garden, resisting the abrupt urge to stay. Tearing his eyes away from the site, he made his way to complete his destination. He would finally leave the frustrating place…

            All of a sudden, he stopped by a window, where she perched, staring at the moon, a longing look in her face; slightly dreaming she was, her eyes glazed, troubled yet sparkling. She let out another one of her habitual sighs and closed her eyes, reaching out to touch an invisible figure, to which the person concluded as him.

            But as Heero unexpectedly stared up, the action surprising him, he suddenly felt a strange pressure against his cheeks. Wondering what it was, his brows met in a frown, and he stopped, thinking that he had better things to do. He then checked his watch, only to find his face gazing back at him through the glass - his cheeks were red.

            Must be the cold, he mumbled nonchalantly. He offered another uncontrolled look toward the window, and had puzzled intuitions… finding her gone… He muttered something about how complicated she could immediately make things and turned to leave.

            And he saw another man, watching the woman and him just the same. Lowly trained, he concluded. The command came to his mind: Attack. Death? Punishment? Unprofessional, he concluded as he stared at him, yet, he mused, ‘Confirmed.’

 

 

 

            “Duo, I miss you…” Hilde whispered as she stared outside. It’s so cold down here, I wish you can still be here to hold me. You can even tease me with your corny jokes if you like, you dolt… She clutched her pillow closer to herself, pretending it was he. But you can’t, we can’t… “I love you.” She said to him, though he was probably too busy cursing her somewhere.

            She sighed as she stared at the bright moon, seemingly radiating a blue glow. It was so beautiful, signifying true peace and beauty, as if spreading peace over wherever it shone on. Erstwhile, she knew that that was untrue. She wondered what Duo was doing, if the business was still doing well, or if he had already found a new girlfriend to replace her.

            The image of a slinky, red-haired woman entered her mind, “Yuck,” she suddenly laughed, trying to comfort herself, “Not my type - Duo’s, perhaps?”

            She shook and tore at the pillow, “Leave it alone, Schbeiker.” Lamenting, she faced the moon again, “Tell him I love him,” she requested, as if the white orb would somehow do it for her. She still hoped, though.

She then turned her head to face her back, “Heero.” She needed to check on the man.

            She then withdrew from her place by the window and dropped the soft pillow on her bed. Turning to the mirror, she allowed her hand to comb through her hair several times before turning to visit Heero’s room.

            Walking through the hallway, she smiled and looked downwards, sighing as she shook her head; she still didn’t understand what made her ask him to stay. But reasons soon protruded in her mind, others non-too selfish. “Oh stop,” she reprimanded herself, then placed her hand to knock on his door, which, she noticed with one look, was locked.

            “Heero, do you need anything?” she called out.

            There was no reply.

            She smirked and crossed her hands over her chest. Well, either he’s done what I think he has done, or he’s really busy, she predicted. “Might as well see, and take it.”

            “Heero?” she asked out again, knocking.

            She was then answered by silence for the second time.

            She smiled, Very well. She looked around cautiously, then stepped backwards. Taking care to aim with a good position, she turned and flipped her leg to her right. She then released it into a kick and firmly hit the door with precise timing and execution. It opened under her attack.

            “I knew it would come in handy one day. Shouldn’t have taken it for granted,” she whispered, taking care not to let Heero hear. No one knew, they would wonder.

            She then walked forward and entered the room, only to find it empty - but just as she had expected. And she thereupon saw the windows drawn open, the wispy curtains flowing with the breeze. The room rarely had a sign of comfort taken, nor struggle. But clear training caused her to be calm.

            “So he left,” she muttered casually. “Oh well, it’s his fault - darn it.”

            She then turned around and went back to her room as if nothing happened.

 

           

            Sally Po placed her head blithely on her hand, smiling, and “I see I hadn’t been alone in my suspicion.”

            Quatre, seemingly the leader of the former group as of present, nodded. Wufei stood in the distance, staring off, as if analyzing the room, contradicting the fact that he had been there nearly a thousand times before. She shook her head over the incongruity; he was still that strange after two years of working together. They were in the conference room in the Preventers’ base, a week after Wufei’s announcement about a certain meeting with his allies then. She had allowed him to leave then knowing that something useful would come out of it.

            And how useful, indeed. There stood all the Gundam Pilots, sans Heero Yuy, who had recently appeared on the International Criminals Board - the reason, Sally suspected, why Wufei had suddenly gone distant. All of them were referring to her about the current issue about the explosion of the embassy, which was highly complicated and mysterious.

            “I definitely agree with you,” she commented as she casually swiveled in her seat. “But we’d have to wait for Une’s approval. She would start all operations, and from there, we can start planning for an investigation.”

            Quatre nodded again, acknowledging her request, “Will she take long?”

            She smiled at his politeness, “Don’t worry, she’ll be here any minute, and we can all start.”

            “Ironic.”

            Huh? They all turned to Wufei, who had said the word. His unusual silence was then contradicted as he spoke again, “She gets to be the leader and the approver when you do all of the work. It had been a while since your Lieutenant Noin has left, and you have been doing most of the work ever since. You’re tired, aren’t you? You deserve more recognition.”

            She gasped, then started to furiously shake her head over the revelation of her innermost feelings and the sudden switching of course of the conversation, “Wufei, don’t start. I don’t -“

            “-Want to admit it? That you have always done most of the work? Sally, you know what I mean, and you know what I know.” The group stared, wary of the sudden connection and understanding between the two of them.

            “You’re being awfully sadistic and different today, Wufei. I don’t understand you at all, “ she answered quietly as she turned to look away, trying to hide her humiliation.

            “Stop it.”

            Trowa came to Lady Une’s defense. “Une knows what she’s doing, she’s been used to it, and just point to conclude that there are more important things she must have done.”

            Wufei closed his eyes and smiled, “Very well, problems have no place in the time of duty. We have another purpose for being gathered here.” He eyed Sally, who was looking away. She would probably reprimand him later for the out bite of words, which were all but true. Wufei knew her, and how things went within the group. Was he being sadistic? He had known everything about her and the others, and could admit as little to care. Some others, as far as Trowa was concerned, didn’t know. Or did.

            “You know her, don’t you?” he asked Trowa out loud.

            Trowa hadn’t blanched, but he knew that the man did within. The brown-haired acrobat then turned to look at him, and when their eyes met, Wufei suddenly knew.

            Pain, there was something else.

            Midii Une. Trowa worded in his eyes, as Wufei took notice to this and looked away again. “Forget about this, I’m sorry for putting such unnecessary things to notice. I apologize, Sally. Trowa, you’re right. Insignificant talk, it is. Be it better to wait.”

            Sally nodded. “Maybe we should postpone this tomorrow,” and departed. Quatre didn’t speak as he left the place to go back to his room, followed quietly by Duo, then by Trowa. Wufei headed in Sally’s direction.

 

 

 

            Hilde took another bite from the pancake she had donned for that morning, shaking her head over what she had to do. Although Heero had left, she was still out of supplies. Her food needs were running out, and she needed to shop soon. However, the list she had made had been missing that morning, and she needed to create a new one. 

            She stood up with her tea when she faced the refrigerator to check if the list was still there somewhere. It had been a chore estimating her (and Heero’s) needs the night ago and checking for other extra necessities, and she didn’t particularly want to have to do it again. Another thing was the systems she was to order… she frowned.

            Setting the cup down, she raised herself over the tiled counter top to check if the list had somehow drifted behind or beside the ref. She checked both sides and other possible places all over again.

            “Darn,” she half-cursed when she found nothing.

            She weighted her hands on the counter when the stresses of the other night reached her, “The other part of that list was important. And how, why did the man leave when he just knew he wasn’t in the proper condition yet?”

            She was answered when her front door opened with a fast click and was banged close adjacently.

            Before she could ask his name out loud, Heero strolled quickly into the room and dropped a number of mechanical items before her, along with a number of grocery bags.

            “What the-“ she began wondrously.

            “Here, my debt is paid,” he interrupted tersely, dropping a button device in her hand.

            Hilde stared at the thing blankly, “I don’t understand,” was all she said after several seconds of silence.

            Heero’s serious face did not change, and he looked away, “Someone was following us last night. Me, or you… I don’t really care, though I know nothing of other resources. I detected him last night, when you were serving me food, and I decided to investigate after. I saw the man in your yard.”

            Hilde swallowed as she stared at the device, “No,”

            Heero didn’t show any cognizance to her sudden change of behavior, or if he did, he didn’t display it. “I succeeded in what I did, and don’t ask me what it was, or how.” His blue eyes glittered with ire; “I had some difficulty because of my injuries. He didn’t speak, but these are all I found. The button activates a recording device; you may handle it.”

            Hilde then observed the mechanism and noticed an insignia of a black star lined by gold behind it. She gasped. 

            Heero’s attention was caught, but again, he said nothing. He simply nodded, then walked away. He then shook his head, “I also took all the things you needed, complete in the packages behind your door,” he finished, dropping her missing (and highly confidential) shopping list, and she gulped. “You're no longer liable for me.”

            And with that, he turned to walk out of the door.

            Hilde saw this and hid the button in her pocket, hastily rushing to stop him. “Wait, don’t!”  She grabbed him by his other arm and when he stopped, tried to ignore the annoyed look in his eyes. “What?”

She suddenly didn’t know what to say to stop him from leaving, or even why she wanted to stop him. Racking her mind, she went back to the past, and found the only words she could have said. She took a deep breath.

            “Pilot, you are stupid.”

 

 

 

            Sally walked inside the lounge to eat breakfast. But, spotting Wufei there, she quickly turned on her heels and went in the opposite direction, then to be helplessly intercepted by the man’s hand.  

            “Look, I’m sorry. I tried to tell you yesterday.”

            She sighed, and moved around to meet the Chinese’s narrowed, impatient eyes. “No, you didn’t. And whether you said it, indirectly or not, you still made a play of my situation out there when you had no reason to do it. I don’t even know if I should even try to understand you.”

            Wufei crossed his arms, but she ignored him. “I trusted you,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing. “Those were… things I can never…”

            He said nothing, and so she turned away, suddenly embarrassed. “Forget it.” And so she started to walk away.

            His hand stopped her again. She sighed and went to look at him again, “What?”

            He looked away, his mouth a smirk, yet somewhat grim; “I apologize. Forgive me.”

            She knew she was to be honored by the fact the Wufei was doing as much as to ask for forgiveness. He was, after all, very silent and independent, she had been lucky enough to be close to him before. But she bit her lip, still unable to see his reason for doing such a thing.

            He sighed, “I was disturbed by something, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

            Sally cringed, but nodded with understanding, That was it, she decided as she heard his terse explanation. She knew it would be something like that. Right now, he was probably confused by his current principles. She concluded Heero Yuy’s involvement in it.

But that was all he was ever going to give, she thought sadly. She then shook her head; whatever he felt, she was sure to be the first one to know -when the man was to be ready. He was only eighteen, after all.

            That was enough, she finished. She thought that the dispute would last longer, but now, she was proved wrong. Still and all, he had been exposed to war at such a young age, and the return of the problems with the other Gundam pilots must have affected him, suspiciously the breaking off of Heero. Now that was another thing she needed to know. Oh well, she sighed.

            “Wufei…” she shook her head, “Okay. Apology accepted, but please,” she pleaded.

            He nodded, understanding as he looked away.

            She smiled, “Okay…” she repeated uneasily, “I’ll see you later.” She then turned around, but was suddenly disturbed by the fact that she saw him… smile. Darn, a very complex person, Wufei was hard to interpret.

            But she turned back, knowing more, “Wufei?”

            He looked back at her, his firm face returning, “Yes?”

            She didn’t need to say any other word, “Tell me when you’re ready.”

            And with that, she left; smiling at the shocked look she had inflicted on his face - that was a first.

 

 

            Heero stopped and suddenly turned his head back to Hilde, his eyes losing all earlier motives and deeming insulted, though more amused. Probably because if the name she had called him, or what she had described him, but she didn’t care. She had caught the stubborn man’s attention.  

            He suddenly laughed out loud, surprising her. And when their eyes met again, she was challenged by the question in his silent, dark eyes, ‘Stupid, and why?’

            Ha! Was he trying to think her naïve again? “A fighter should know the right time for everything.” She began. “Even I wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave care when I very well know my injuries are not well enough yet. No matter how fast I would heal,” she paused, “I know what to do to protect myself and my mission - to think wisely and to keep myself protected. My own body is my weapon.”

            Heero, who had his eyes leering at her and mocking her, had his mouth dropped open. Awestruck, he didn’t speak. She shook her head, and repeated “Stupid, Pilot.”

 

 

            Suddenly a flash of a distant memory occurred in her mind… another person, a man, dark eyed. A whip in his hand, “Schbeiker, know that your body is the greatest weapon you will ever use. Don’t abuse it, as a fighter.”

            The inscription behind the recording cassette player…

            Black Star.

 

            Doctor J was looking at him, his hand contraption clicking before him, “Although your mission is your first priority, you will never succeed, without watching for the first of all factors: yourself.”

 

 

            They both noticed the silence that had reigned over the moment. Hilde was used to such, however, and had immediately spoken to take control. Gently, she began, “Heero, thank you for being able to protect me, or yourself, however willing or unwilling you were. I thank you still, and you are no longer ‘in my debt,’ for you never were. But let yourself be rewarded for what you have done. Stay; at least until your injuries are well enough. My own conscience won’t allow you to leave.”

            Heero didn’t speak, the former events and words still casting an undecided haze on him. But when he quickly gained her words, he still remained silent, inwardly filled with wonder and shock, followed by hesitant acceptance and respect. The woman was very difficult to read; she was filled with many secrets, he realized. He wondered how Duo survived with her.

            Hilde smiled, “Please, only until you heal completely, for my own honor, as well as yours. I have allowed you to see things not meant to be seen, and I had welcomed you into my shelter. You know what we should do."

After several seconds of muted silence, he finally spoke, “Where did you learn what you said earlier?”

            She grinned, but shook her head, “I am unable to tell, as my own Code.”

            He nodded, understanding… and being led into more doubts and questions about Duo’s friend. “Then you have my word.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~