But to the former Gundam pilots, the war made a big hole in their hearts.

"Duo..."

Quatre Raberba Winner sighed in his office while prescribing dozens of medications.
He's been working as a doctor for 2 years now, graduating medical school with top grade. Thousands of people were amazed and uneasy about receiving medical treatment from a young man of 21, but they soon realized his outstanding work and passion towards helping people.

"..It's been so long.. ne?.. "
"Dr. Winner?"

Quatre quickly turned to the concerned nurse who was serving coffee for him.
"It's nothing Alice," Quatre smiled, "..how is Mr. Howard?"
"Ohh.. the usual. You know how he is with the "disgusting" pills of his."
The nurse named Alice stuck her tongue out and impersonated one of Quatre's patient when it was time for his medications.
"Tell him I'll double the amount if he keeps complaining."
Quatre laughed. Alice joined him.
"I'll do that right away."
She winked and went out.

Quatre sipped his freshly brewed coffee and began to write again. After a minute or two, he stopped his pen and reached for his desk drawer. He opened it and got out an old picture.
It was a picture of all the five Gundam pilots, taken just a week before Duo's death.

Duo always surprised his fellow pilots by doing unexpected things, but calling everybody out of the mansion and deciding to take their picture was by far unforeseen.
When Quatre asked why he wanted to take a picture so suddenly, Duo answered.

"I don't know.. I've always wanted to take a picture with everybody. Besides, don't you think today is the perfect day for it?"

Quatre nodded.
"..Yes it was..."

He began to pack his things. He had promised to meet Trowa at a Italian restaurant tonight.

Duo's death hit them like a hammer to the Gundam pilots, especially Heero. He shut down everybody and everything around him and disappeared for almost three years. By then, Quatre graduated from medical school and started to work at a hospital, and Trowa joined the police elite force. No one was sure of Wufei's whereabouts, but Trowa once saw him with Lee Yue-lun, the head of the Lee clique who Trowa referred to as "just another one of those Chinese mafias." Knowing Wufei's obsession with justice, Quatre found that hard to believe. After years of researching and collecting data, Trowa finally spotted Heero's apartment. When he visited, the place was horrifying. The kitchen was covered with dry blood. Trowa gagged on the foul stench and quickly searched for Heero. When he found him in the bedroom, he almost screeched. The bed sheets were completely covered with blood, new and old, and Heero was unconscious in the corner. Trowa ran to Heero, afraid that it might be too late, but sighed in relief when he heard him breathing. He immediately called ambulance and Heero regained consciousness from his coma under Quatre's care. Quatre noticed numerous cut marks on Heero's body, especially on his wrists. It was then Trowa decided to take care of Heero, making him his partner in the elite force. With Heero's intelligence and ability, it was no problem. But Trowa and Quatre were still unsure about his mental state.

Quatre sighed. Everything was breaking apart.
He opened the door.
"..It was the only day...."
He closed the door behind him.



Before he drove to the restaurant, Quatre decided to drop by Duo's grave. He didn't know why, but he felt he had to visit that day.
He parked his luxurious car and grabbed the bouquet of flowers he bought at a near by florist. He wanted to get Duo's favorite colors, so he picked variety of dahlias and his personal favorite Lathyrus Odoratus.
Quatre walked straight to Duo's grave. Besides Trowa, he was the only frequent visitor.

Quatre recently began to wonder if Duo knew his end was near. It all started with the photo. And then his constant speech about peace, and his final words...
Quatre's thoughts were instantly removed by "something" in front of Duo's grave. He couldn't move for a while.

"..Is that..a .. body..?"
Quatre slowly advanced. The more steps he took, the more he became certain that this "something" was a body.

"!??"
Quatre was shocked. The small naked figure looked almost like..

"Duo!?"

But this boy looked younger and smaller than Duo. At first, he wasn't sure if he was a boy or a girl because of his incredibly long hair.

The boy was completely naked, his long chestnut hair spread about. He was in a fetal position and his face looked so peaceful that Quatre wasn't sure if he was sleeping or praying. A mysterious light seemed surrounding the boy and he looked so dreamlike that he reminded Quatre of an angel.

End Prologue
Datenshi ~when angel falls~


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