Love Beyond All 7/?

[Gundam Girl]

I admit I enjoyed the response I got for chapter six, being called everything from a genius to a bitch. (Lance, your review was the best! I?ve never been insulted and praised in the same beat like that before? And Morri-chan, I?m VERY glad you?re not Rose! ^_~)

Just want to say thanks, all, and please keep it up! This story?s really important to me, as it?s kind of in honor to my friend Maxine ? whom I hear less and less from, HINT HINT, Max! ? since she was originally going to help me write this. Love ya, Max.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

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Love Beyond All Fear ? Chapter Seven

By Gundam Girl

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Three Years Later

Howard was busy. Howard had been busy for a very long time now. Walking through the ruined remains of a place he had once seen as his domain, his paradise, he was stricken by a sense of longing. His paradise was lost.

It hadn?t been a very good paradise, admittedly, but it had still been one. And in Japan, men took whatever heaven they could scrape up. The Americans had beat the living shit out of the country he had been born in, and everyone was still recovering. It would be that way for a few more years yet, he imagined.

Howard was one of the very few not bitter toward the United States. He had heard point of views from both sides; he had agreed and disagreed with points on each end. He was a very neutral man.

He was a very poor man as well. Ever since the day the GI?s had moved out in their big white planes, he had been treading his feet in the mug, risking getting stuck. His one accomplishment was being able to save Relena. It made him smug to think of it now. Manager Howard, a hero. If he could?ve he would have gotten Hilde out, too. But he hadn?t been able to find her. He betted she had either persuaded one of the GI?s to take her to America, she had snuck onboard a plane, or she had been an early victim.

It was most likely the latter.

He looked around; though some people had foraged out a trashy living in the wreckage, there wasn?t a soul in sight. And so no one saw him go inside the wretched mess that had once been his great work.

Fair View, in his opinion, had gotten in the worst. Not a table had been left upright, not a window had been spared. There were molded and crusty bits of food everywhere. The place held an overwhelming stench of bad beer and sour wine.

His heart fell as he looked at it. Paradise had definitely gone to hell.

At the sound of already broken glass crunching beneath feet, Howard whirled around, had at his back. He always kept a sheathed, short dagger with him. Not that he could ever use it well, but it was always good to have some sort of defense.

His face went pale at the sight of a dark-haired Japanese soldier, dressed in a starched uniform and glaring at him with hard, cold eyes.

?Hidaki Tomoya,? the soldier said icily.

Howard thought about lying but knew he?d never get away with it. The army knew its facts. ?Just call me Howard,? he replied.

?Hidaki, your presence has been requested.? The soldier stepped forward, spreading out a short rope.

Howard sighed and held out his wrists for the soldiers to tie together. Every man faces Destiny one day, he told himself. ?By whom, may I ask??

?Someone better than you,? was the curt reply.

?Heh.? Howard grinned, his eyes twinkling behind his wide black sunglasses. No one?s better than me, pal. I?m the best businessman there ever was.

---

Every morning, Relena woke to the smell of smoke that came from the nearby fire. Every morning it threw her into a light panic; panic about the death of her family, about the punishment the Japanese military had bestowed upon the small town she had worked for Howard in. No, the town she had met Heero in.

This morning was no different. The place she had been living the last three years was occupied by a group of no more than six women, the oldest only thirty-five. Their home was a tiny, two-room shack that was getting more and more damaged every year. The small well they got water from was drying up, the one sliding door used for the rare exit and entrance no longer closed all the way, and more than once, wild animals had come in and stolen what little food they could scavenge from the woods the shack was hid deeply in.

Howard had driven her here in the jeep he?d stolen from an occupied GI the night before. The machine had died two miles away from the house and they had ran the rest of the way. It turned out that Howard?s sister, Nibiki (she had not changed her name to something American), lived here alone and were taking in women from the ?punished? district if they managed to escape. Only four besides Relena had. As far as she knew, everyone else in the town had been slaughtered by the furious Japanese army because of US soldiers being hidden in the town without a report being made.

The only reason, Relena had known all along, for Howard saving her was because she had been an eye-catch at Fairview ? which was now surely destroyed ? even though she had only been bought buy one customer. Howard had hoped for her to pick up work for him again soon in another village. But Relena had been unable to do so, and Howard had left quickly. She did not see him after that.

The last one awake, Relena did a quick check to make sure everything of hers was in its proper place, as she did every morning. Then she stood and ran a coarse comb through her hair, leaving it hanging down and dirty around her waist. She would have to wash it soon, providing they had enough excess water.

It was times like these, when the house was silent, and she was not yet needed for the chores of the day, that Relena permitted herself to think and remember. As the work worked through her hair, she recalled how Heero?s fingers had felt going through it, then moving it aside so he could kiss her neck?

Other women would cry at the memory. Relena?s tears had dried up long ago. For who thinks about the husband she loved and cries?

Relena had considered Heero her husband since the day he had signed the paper promising to marry her once they got to America ? the home he had told her all about, with the tall buildings and the good food and the ice cream and the people of many countries running around and living like one race. Heero had wanted to return there so badly. Relena had wanted to go with him.

Her heart constricted; she would. Heero had wanted her with him as well. It had not been a long wait, and so Relena was sure that he would be arriving for her soon. Maybe he was here already, looking for her?

He?d have found her by now, she told herself logically. Nibiki had told her that Howard was hiding out in the town, unable to leave his bar. That was like him.

Reaching under the small pillow she used, she pulled out her gun and placed it next to her hip inside the waistband on the short shorts she had acquired from a trader. Around it, Relena tightened the single kimono she had worn for the last three years. She wasn?t Japanese but the other women, who all were, had treated her as such, and she now spoke the language fluently and was beginning to think in it as well. She shook her hair back again and made herself smile, as she did every morning. And she began her day, forcing thoughts of her husband from her mind.

But she never stopped waiting for him.

---

As Relena was just waking up, Heero was just going to bed. Actually, he?d been in bed for a while, and he hadn?t been sleeping; not well, anyway.

It was like any other night. Catherine would be lying awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to him breathe. He?d stir, he?d moan, and she would already be sitting up when he shot out of sleep yelling something Catherine had never been able to decipher before.

Heero?s nightmares were a nightly thing. He never took naps because seeing the images were hard enough in the evening, and he didn?t want them in the daytime too.

Catherine ran her hand over his hair, kissing his cold, damp forehead and holding his shaking body. ?Heero?Heero, it?s all right.?

?It was bad,? his deep voice rumbled. ?It was the worst thing.?

?I know. I know, dear.? Catherine frowned. That was the thing; she didn?t know. ?It?s all over, Heero. You?re not in Japan anymore. You?re back in New York. In America, love.?

Heero?s shaking settled a bit. ?I saw? I saw?? But before he could say what he had seen, he?d dozed up again against Catherine?s negligee-covered chest.

Catherine bit her lip, tears in her eyes. Her tears were a nightly thing, too. Night was the only time she could get Heero to open up a little; he never spoke of his time in Japan or World War II. He rarely saw the people he had known while he was there, save for four, who had apparently worked an important mission with him and lived in New York City as well. One of them was Catherine?s brother, Trowa, who still worked communications with his friend Quatre. They lived right beside Grand Central Station as work partners.

Trowa had introduced Heero to Cathy a year and a couple months after her brother and Heero had returned from Japan. Heero had seemed like a very cold, hard person who didn?t enjoy people very much. Catherine hadn?t been taken in by him at all. But then they had gone out and talked and Trowa insisted she see him again. They went out again, because Catherine loved her brother. Heero had told her a bit about his childhood, being Japanese and growing up as the son of an American mother and an immigrant Japanese father. He told her that it had been hard growing up because he looked different, didn?t fit in with the Americans and didn?t fit in with the Japanese. Catherine had inevitably warmed up to Heero, and Heero had begun to trust Catherine.

They had been married for a year and a half now. She gazed at the small gold ring on her left middle finger, though she could barely see it in the dark. Exchanged nearly two years ago, she had no regrets. She loved Heero. Heero loved her. She knew that. Most of the time.

As Cathy eased her husband off of her and back onto the mattress, he woke up suddenly again. And first the first time, what he was screaming in terror was audible.

A name. A woman?s name. Not American, but not Japanese either. Catherine eyes widened as she stared down at Heero, who quickly settled into sleep once more.

Who was she? Catherine wondered in shock.

Who was Relena?

---

?Relena! Relena!?

Nibiki Hadaki was startled to hear her brother?s voice. She looked up from trying to make the door close all the way to see Tomoya, or rather, Howard, as he was now called, running toward her house. ?Oniiwe??

?Nibiki,? Howard said. ?Onee-chan. Relena. Where??

Nibiki pointed to the door, already babbling questions. But Howard ran past her, ridiculous Hawaiian printed shirt (now nearly in pieces) flapping madly. ?RELENA!?

Relena was just closing the door of a three-feet tall cabinet and stared at Howard, face pale. ?Howard. What are you??

?You need to get outside now. Someone wants to see you,? Howard said seriously, eyebrows narrowed. ?Go quickly. He?s impatient.?

?Who do you??

?Go!? Howard pushed her toward the open door. ?This isn?t just about you,? he hissed into her ear. ?Don?t do something stupid, girl.?

Confused and more than a little frightened, Relena walked through the door. She saw the military car, three uniformed soldiers, and?

God, no.

Relena?s fear was well-placed. She didn?t know whether to scream, to run, to just stand there or?

?Treize.? Her voice slipped out like a hard chunk of ice on the verge of cracking. ?What are you doing here?? Her eyes slipped over to Howard?s weak-looking frame. ?What have you done to him??

?Relena.? Treize smiled from his place next to the car. ?In answer to your second question, I asked Mr. Hidaki to show me to you. In answer to the first, I?m here to bring you home.?

Relena immediately tensed. ?You shouldn?t be here, Treize. This is a place of peaceful women??

?Who escaped the village that betrayed Japan. I know.? He brushed some imaginary dirt from the sleeve of his fancy, expensive-looking uniform. ?Do I look violent to you??

?You look like a soldier, and they are always violent.?

She always had been quick, Treize told himself. It pleased him enormously. ?Shall we continue this conversation inside?? Relena didn?t response, his smile widened. ?Let?s. Mr. Hidaki, join us.? He motioned to the other soldiers. ?Wait outside.?

When the door was closed as far as it could go, and Howard, Relena, and Treize were inside, Treize turned his smile to her. ?Aren?t you proud of me, Relena? I?m European, but help with certain attempts at?ah?purification, and they let me into the Japanese military.?

?You mean you sold out Japanese men,? Relena said.

?I helped give rightful punishment to rebels that deserved it. I can do it again as well,? he said in a way that was like an afterthought. Relena knew it wasn?t. ?You have no idea how much I?ve missed you!? he exclaimed, clear eyes happy.

?I can imagine,? Relena disagreed. ?Enough to bond my employer and force him to reveal this place to you.?

Treize?s good expression wavered for a moment, but only that. ?Come now, Relena. Come home. If you do, I guarantee that I will erase any shame you have brought upon our household.?

?We don?t have household,? Relena snapped.

?Not yet,? corrected Treize. ?We will soon.? He kept right on smiling, and it turned Relena?s stomach.

?Listen to me,? she said lowly. ?Treize. You are my cousin. And I do care for you ? one part of me does at least.?

Treize?s eyes dimmed.

?But I do not love you. I cannot love you. I will not. And,? Relena said, voice clear and loud, ?I will not be your wife! Anything you offer me, I refuse!?

Khushrenada?s eyes narrowed. ?Do you realize the magnitude of your words??

?Of course I do.?

?You don?t,? he told her softly. ?Shall I show you??

?I don?t care what you??

Treize lifted a hand and snapped his fingers, then yelled something in French. Relena hadn?t spoken the language in so long that she couldn?t decipher what it was. But the soldiers stormed in. Two of them each grabbed Howard and Relena. She screamed and Howard gasped as they were forced to their knees. Guns were out in an instant and pressed to their scalps. Relena hissed against the pain in her skull as horror swept over her. She didn?t want to die, oh God, she couldn?t?

?Do you see?!? shouted Treize, leaning over her. She watched his intimidating form out of the corners of her eyes. ?This is what I have the power to do now! I?m not helpless anymore, do you see that?! With a word, I can send both you and this bastard to your deaths! Or maybe,? he went on fiercely, ?to the mines. How would you like to be enslaved, Relena?! How would you like that?!?

?Treize,? she murmured.

?GET OUT!? he yelled at the soldiers suddenly in Japanese. ?Get the hell out! OUT!?

Replacing their guns and releasing the two civilians, the three soldiers stomped out as quickly as they had rushed in.

Relena fought for breath over the terror lodged in her chest. God! she thought, Good God!

?Is there something wrong with you?!? Howard demanded in a whisper as Treize?s back was turned. ?There has to be! Are you waiting for them to kill me? I?m a bug beneath their feet, to be squashed any second!?

?I never thought he?d come here,? she whispered back, still stricken.

?Then that?s been corrected, hasn?t it? He wants you to go with him, so girl, you fucking go! Say yes now, I don?t give a damn if you love him or not. Princess, you can?t get anything out of anything if you?re dead!?

Relena shook her head at him as thought raced through her brain, maddening her. ?I?I have a husband.? A small sob tore through her throat. ?A husband I love. I can?t marry Treize while I??

?I swear to God you can!? Howard seethed. ?Now do it!?

Relena wiped her eyes as Treize turned to them again.

?Do you see now what power I have? Do you still deny me, Relena?!?

She stared up at him. Lips trembling she muttered, ?Heero will come for me! And he?ll take me away from you!?

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Please review!

[Morrighan]

Whoa, whoa. Back up here... Heero WHAT?!?!?!?!?! Excuse me??

:evil: GG!!! How could you?!?!?! *prods her even more violently* More, more, more, more, more!!!!

[Gundam Girl]

<i>Heero WHAT?!?!?!?!?!</i>

Heero got married, love.

But that's not to say he's let go of Relena...

[Mandaba]

....

[Elyn Yuy]

:-?


speech...less...

continue so we can all get out of this nightmare!!!

Elyn Yuy

[deathroseaiko]

There better be a happy ending cause I hope this story doesn't play out like Madame Butterfly!

[Gundam Girl]

This is hilarious! Everyone's just like . Have you nothing to say?

M'kay then. Glad you're at least being affected. I hope you're enjoying too.