Disclaimer....once again.... I don't own Gundam Wing. But you guys already know that, don't
you?
Still wanting feedback….
Heart of the Storm
Chapter Two
The next day, Trowa had gone back to the colonies.
His sister, Catherine had felt lonely since he left the circus. He felt
that he should pay her a visit to liven up her spirit. Her loneliness had
caused her to slack off a little in her performances. He thought that
perhaps his visit would help her along.
He walked into the large tent after greeting a few old friends. He
watched for a while as Catherine practiced with her knives. Each one she
threw missed its target, which was something that had never happened when he
was there.
She threw the last knife and watched as it hit the ground nearly a yard behind
the target. She sighed.
Trowa walked towards her. “What’s wrong?
Your aim was always perfect.”
Catherine gasped and spun around, facing him.
“Trowa!” An immediate
smile spread across her once gloomy face. She ran over to him and wrapped
her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, not wanting to let go.
Trowa smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist,
hugging her in return.
“I missed you, Cathy.”
Catherine slipped back from the embrace a little, her arms still around his
neck.
“Not as much as I missed you.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and
pulled him to the trailer they once shared. She fixed him a cup of coffee
and began telling him about everything that happened while he was away.
She even managed to con him into performing with her that night.
The show was going to begin in a few short hours, so they continued
practice. Catherine’s aim was right on the mark this time.
Trowa was pleased to see a smile on her face again,
and Catherine was just as pleased to see Trowa
…well…being Trowa.
The practice continued for those few hours until it was time for the show to
begin. Catherine and Trowa hid behind a curtain
as the people took their seats. They had a clear view of everyone
entering. There were people ranging in age from four or five years, to
senior citizens.
Trowa smiled to himself as he saw one woman in
particular enter the tent. It was Lightning.
She held onto the arm of an older man. Trowa felt
his heart sink a little. He shook his head. Wait a minute. He
had only met her last night, and didn’t even get to go to the base with
her. Two Preventers had met them after only a
few yards and had sent Trowa away. Still, he
had only met her once, yet, he couldn’t help feeling something. Couldn’t be love. He didn’t know her that well at
all. But still, Trowa watched as they took
seats on the front row.
The lights dimmed as the show began. All through the other acts, Trowa stayed, watching Lightning. He enjoyed watching
her smile, watching her laugh. She was so much different than the last
time they met. He slapped himself mentally. Of course she’d be
different. When they met, she had just been attacked, not to mention that
she was a very skilled fighter. He sighed. He enjoyed seeing her
happy. Here we go again. I can’t be in love with her. I’ve
only met her once.
Then it came time for his and Catherine’s performance. He made sure his
half-mask was in place and went out with Catherine.
The performance was flawless, as perfect as it used to be. Catherine was
proud. And so was Trowa.
A few more acts were performed. And the show ended. After quickly
changing out of his costume, Trowa stood at the exit
of the tent, waiting for Lightning to come out.
After a few minutes of waiting, Lightning and her companion finally exited.
Her eyes fell upon Trowa and she smiled. She
whispered something to the man and he looked over to Trowa.
He smiled and nodded to Lightning. She kissed him on the cheek and walked
over to Trowa. The older man continued on his
way with the other people.
Lightning stopped in front of Trowa. “Long time
no see, Trowa Barton.” She smiled.
He nodded in greeting, giving a hint of a smile. “I was beginning to
thing I’d never see you again. You don’t seem to stay in one place very
long.”
“Neither do you, circus-man.” She laughed
slightly. “By the way, that was a great show.”
They began walking, where to, they didn’t know yet. “I’m glad you liked
it. This was my first night back in a long long
time.”
They stepped up on a hill that over-looked the city below. Lightning
watched the limo she had arrived in pull away and go towards the city.
“So who was your date?”
Lightning smiled. “My father. Well, the
man who adopted me. He was the leader of one of the smaller nations on
Earth. It fell apart with the end of the war. He’s been trying to
help other nations, such like the
“I take it you were trying to correct one of his mistakes the night I met
you.” Trowa raised a brow.
“In a way. My father can be way too trusting at
times. That’s one of the reasons our nation fell apart. Those men
were two of his assistants. They abused their positions to get
information about other nations, alliances, and things of the like. Even
info on the Gundam pilots, Mr. Trowa
Barton.”
He looked down at her.
She continued. “I managed to steal the disk before they could get it to
their employer. I’m not quite sure yet, who that is.”
“What all do they have on us Gundam pilots?”
“I don’t know exactly. I never saw what was on it. You watched me
destroy the disk.”
“Speaking of which,” he turned his head back to the cityscape below. “I
don’t think you ever introduced yourself.”
“I suppose I should, huh? After all, it would seem kind of awkward for us
to keep running into each other and you not know my real name.”
He smiled. “It would indeed.”
She turned towards him and smiled, extending her hand. “Kalinda Guro.”
He shook her hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Kalinda.”
He thought for a moment. “Wait a minute. That was Ambassador Guro? He looks nothing like the pictures in his
profiles.”
She smiled. “Pictures hardly capture the real him. They always freshen him up before they place him in front of a
camera. He's an old man, but those camera people can make him look
decades younger.”
They stood in silence for a minute or so before beginning a descent towards the
city.
“So, what all do you know about us Gundam pilots?”
“Oh, just the basics. Who pilots what and a slight background on each
pilot.”
“What do you know about me?”
“Let’s see…You’re the pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms…this circus used to be part of your quote,
unquote ‘secret identity’…I take it, now it’s your family…you love music…and
you have a special ‘bond’ with one of your fellow pilots, Quatre
Rabera Winner.”
He looked down at her as they walked. “That about sums it up.”
She smiled up at him.
“And the ‘bond’ I have with Quatre isn’t…well…you
know…”
She slid her arm around his as they walked. “I didn’t say it was.”
He smiled at her then faced forward. “You know, you look just like him.”
She giggled slightly. “I should. He’s my twin.”
Trowa stopped suddenly and gasped, nearly choking on
his own spit.
“Your twin?”
She smiled and nodded. “But the only ones who know are Quatre, myself, our deceased
father, and now you. Our sisters may know. But then, there are too
many to know who knows what.”
“So Quatre’s got thirty sisters. Well, that’s a
nice even number.”
Trowa recognized the voice immediately. He and Kalinda turned around to face Duo Maxwell.
“And, how long have you been behind us, Mr. Maxwell?” asked Kalinda.
She smiled to herself. My god, he does look like Izreina.
I mean, I know they’re twins, like me and Quatre, but
geeze...
“Oh, long enough for you to say that you were Quatre’s
twin and watch Trowa nearly choke.”
He walked towards them with a huge grin on his face. He brushed his long
braid off of his shoulder. “Trust me, Trowa, the look on your face
was priceless.” He chuckled.
Trowa simply glared at Duo. He was enjoying his
time alone with Kalinda. And Duo just had to
ruin the moment.
“What do you want, Duo?” he asked coolly.
“Ironically enough, Quatre’s lookin’
for ya. He’s havin’
this party over at his place an’ asked me to send ya
an invitation. Bring your girlfriend along. I’m sure Quatre would love ta see her
again.”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it, Trowa?”
He stood silent for a moment, still glaring at Duo.
Kalinda nudged him lightly in the side.
“Sure…we’ll be there,” he finally stated.
"Great! See ya at Quatre’s
in about an hour.” He smiled at Kalinda and
winked at Trowa before running back up the hill.
“That guy is really annoying at times.” Trowa
looked down to Kalinda. “Are you sure you want
to go?”
Kalinda smiled up at him, still holding his
arm. “I haven’t seen my brother in nearly thirteen years. We’ve
only met once. I didn’t even know I had a brother, or any sisters.
Much less a twin and 29 sisters.”
“Does he know about you being a part of the Preventer
Storm?”
She frowned. “No. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell
him. Not yet anyway.”
“I’ve never lied to Quatre before. I don’t ever
want to.”
“Then continue to be your usual quiet self. If you don’t speak, you won’t
be lying.”
“I’ll try.”
Duo reached the other side of the hill and stopped, the grin fading from his
face. He sighed as he walked the rest of the way down. Seeing Kalinda, her saying that she was Quatre’s twin. He wondered about his own twin.
Izreina. “Rainy.”
He sighed. Miracles happen. Even to the God of
Death. But it’s been so long. Where has she been if she’s still
alive? Why hasn’t she been looking for him like she promised?
<<<Flashback>>>
Two small children ran through the destroyed city. Once
tall buildings stood in nothing but soot and ash, still smoking.
Nothing was left standing, and very few people surviving. And those few, endlessly being pursued by soldiers.
The two children were running away from one of these soldiers.
The young girl whispered to the boy. “Issac, we
have to split up. That way, at least one of us gets out. Remember
the street divides ahead?”
The boy frowned and nodded. He didn’t like the idea of splitting up,
leaving his sister alone, but he knew it was the only way. “I remember.”
“You take the left side and I’ll take the right. He’s going to chase me,
I know it. If you get away, meet me at that tree in the park that we always
went to. You remember which one?”
The boy nodded. “But if you don’t get away, how long do I stay at the
tree before giving up?”
“Stay until you feel like I’m not coming. If you can’t wait any longer,
then leave this place. I’ll find you, Issac. I
promise.”
They came up quickly on the fork in the road. The boy, Issac, gave the girl a quick look.
“I love you, 'Rainy.' Izreina. Please, don’t make me wait.”
“I’ll try, Issac. I love you, too.”
The two took their separate ways, and, like the girl predicted, the soldier
chased after her.
After Issac had made it to the tree, which was the
only thing left standing in a 100-mile radius, he sat and waited. He
waited for what seemed like ages, as the artificial sun rose and fell several
times. He cried silently to himself as he finally gave up and took a long
lonely road going into his future, which he wasn’t sure about.
Izreina. “Rainy.”
“I’m sorry that Leia won’t be accompanying you,
Eric.” Quatre walked down the hallway with Eric.
“I was really hoping to see her again.”
“She was looking forward to seeing you again, also, Quatre.
It’s just that, since
Quatre nodded. “She has been working kind of
hard, lately. Why don’t the two of you take a few weeks off? Take a
vacation. I can handle your workloads for a few weeks.”
“I don’t know if she’ll agree with that. She gets pretty antsy when
someone else does her work for her.”
“Then I’ll see if I can postpone the deadlines.” Quatre
stopped at his office door and opened it. The two of them stepped inside.
“That might work.”
“Good.” Quatre sat down and looked
through a guest list for the night. “Will you be coming alone, tonight,
or is someone else coming with you.”
“Izreina Day will be coming with me. We worked
together back during the war. She’s been living with Leia
and I since
“Izreina Day?” He changed the name on the list.
“I think I know the name from somewhere, but I can’t quite place it.
Anything else you need, Eric?”
“No, that’s all, Quatre. I need to check on a
few things in my office, so I’ll see you tonight.”
Quatre nodded. “Right.
Please tell Leia that I said hello and I hope she’ll
take that vacation.”
Eric nodded. “I will.” He exited the office, closing the door
behind him.
Quatre turned to his computer. “Hmm…Izreina Day…” He typed at the keyboard. A
profile of Izreina popped up on the screen.
“Hmm…this is usually Heero’s job, but I remember that
name from somewhere… Looks like just a normal college student…
Except for her military history… She was in Oz back during the war…but
disappeared just before Romerfeller took control of
Oz… Her, Leia, and
Eric were all trained by Lady Une and by Zechs Merquise… That
explains why Eric and Leia were such good
pilots… I suppose this is where I remember her name from…” Quatre glanced at the picture of Izreina
that was part of her profile. “She looks like Duo…a lot like Duo…”
He sat back in his chair after closing down the profile. He ran a hand
through his oily hair, realizing he needed a shower and needed to get some
rest. The events of that night had Quatre’s
stomach in a knot. Something was going to happen. He just knew it.