Northeasterly winds blew gently through the vast fields of tall grasses that bright and sunny day. A lone blackbird few high above the dense forest in the east, calling out with a shrill, yet soothing chirping sound to its mate, who answered with a beautiful, haunting call of its own and soon joined the other in flight. Unaware, two boys ran through the field, playing a game of tag while their laughter echoed through the clear cerulean skies high up above.

The older of the two, older than his brother by five years, had yellow-blonde hair that fell down to his shoulders and flowed like silken strands in the winds. His eyes, a mesmerizing deep blue, looked back playfully at his younger brother, who chased him gleefully only a few feet behind.

His little brother, a very young boy no older than five, looked very much like his older brother, and people often mistook them for twins. However, this was impossible, since the two had completely different mothers. The younger boy had shorter hair, the exact same color of his brother's, but his eyes were a much lighter shade of blue. The little one laughed as his brother slowed his pace to allowing him to catch up. He then pounced on the other, sending the two down to the ground in a blur of smiles.

Afterwards, they lay side-by-side in the grass, staring up at the sky in wonder. The little one turned to his brother.

"You're so much fun, Mikah," he giggled.

"Yeah, cause I'm your big brother." Mikah smiled at the other, giggling boy.

"And we'll always have this much fun together, won't we, Mikah?"

"Sure we will, Quatre. No matter what, I'm always gonna be here for you and we'll play together for always."

Quatre sighed calmly and curled up beside Mikah, who in turn wrapped his little brother in a gentle embrace and kissed his forehead lightly. "I love you, Quatre."

"I love you too, but..." He bopped his brother on the head and ran off giggling. "You're it!"

"Hey!"

Mikah got up quickly and trotted after his brother, sighing. Quatre was one little ball of pure energy, that was for sure. But then he saw where the little one was running off to. "Hey, don't run out into that road, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt!" Quatre called back, now over 75 feet ahead. "No one's on it!"

"Quatre, I'm serious. That's far enough. Now come back."

But the boy would not listen, and Mikah suddenly had a bad feeling about the whole situation. His trot upgraded to a run as the feeling passed over him. What worried him, he was not sure. All he knew was that he needed to get his brother off that road. If only the forest hadn't been in the way...

Quatre bounced up and down happily as he reached the road before his older brother. He cheered and looked back at Mikah proudly. "I beat you! I b-" But something from the road caught his attention, and he looked off behind the woods, suddenly silenced. Not too far off, the tanker sped down the way, heading right for him, its horns blaring desperately; the tires screeching as the driver tried in a frenzy to stop the massive vehicle. Quatre was paralyzed with fear, and he could only watch helplessly in horror as...

"QUATRE!!!"

Something hit him hard from the side, sending him flying off into the grass. The initial impact broke his arm and knocked him out as he tumbled 30 feet further, but the boy was completely unaware of this. He regained consciousness some 15 minutes later.

Dazed and confused, Quatre stood slowly, shaking all over. His side still hurt from the crash...but...could he have survived that? He looked out to the roadway, seeing a blur. But his vision soon focused again, and his eyes went wide with disbelief.

The tanker was completely stopped on the road, steam hissing from its tires. Black tire tracks stained the asphalt behind the wheels where the machine had screeched to a halt so suddenly.

<Where is my brother?> he thought suddenly. Walking towards the tanker, not without taking great pain with every step he took, he looked frantically about for Mikah, but he did not find him. "Mikah? Mikah?!"

He followed the side of the trailer up to the front, watching the...and screamed.

* * * * *

Days later, Quatre stood tearfully in a graveyard, dressed entirely in black while his father watched him, also in tears. Before him lay a grave decorated elaborately by several wreaths and flowers in vases. The charcoal-gray marble headstone had a few words engraved into it as well as a name, but it was the name that Quatre could only look at. "Mikah Donele Winner"

* * * * *

Quatre survived several battles, a war and three attempts at self-destruction just after his brother's death. Everyday, he thought of his brother, though...and how he saved his life that day. But as the years passed and he began to know and understand himself, he realized that, as he had been dependent on himself all along, he had been starved for the attention and support of another...and that this was one of his major reasons for wanting his brother by his side so severely.

He had found four new friends during the war, but he could not bring himself to ask them to care for him. They each had their own problems to deal with and they really didn't need any more to bother them. Even the cheerful, happy-go-lucky and almost hyperactive Duo Maxwell had ghosts that haunted him. Thus, Quatre decided it was best to keep to himself about his own demons.

During the days after the war however, Quatre discovered his need for Mikah's presence had intensified dramatically, and he cried himself to sleep almost every night. He finally made the decision to search out his sisters in hopes that they could help to remove this pain. Quatre traveled from colony to colony in search of his sisters, but in the end, no matter how hard he looked, his attempts were all in vain.

On the last night of his quest, Quatre broke down in the bedroom of his apartment, crying Mikah's name over and over until he was asleep.