Her mother's daughter chapter 5-6

[Ame-san]

Chapter 5

Duo Maxwell walked behind Liz Dorlain in the National Museum of War of the Sank Kingdom. He watched the daughter of his friend stopped at the miniature models of the Gundam suits obviously taking interest in the display. She read the history of each suits carefully and smiled at the mention of the pilots of the deadly machines. In the last two hours Liz had gotten to know Duo a lot better. She found out about the ironic chance encounter of him with her unknown father, and that he was called the God of Death during the war. Duo told her quite a bit about Operation Meteor, and how he had piloted the Gundam named Deathscyth. A Gundam pilot, yes, that was what Duo and her father were. She also thought that Duo had a great sense of humor, yet she could see that he was so much deeper than he appeared to be. She never failed her ability to see through a person's facade. That was a talent she inherited from her mother. There was one other thing Duo kept mentioning during their time together, and that would be his family. Liz had already sensed that Miss Hilde was Duo's wife, but she had not known about Mike, their eight-year old son. From the picture he showed her, she could tell that Mike was an exact replica of his father, which made him the Heir of Death, so she was told by Duo. The alias confused her a bit, but she did liked the sound of it.

" Uncle Duo, " She said pointing to the Gundam named Wing Zero. " My father piloted this suit right?"

" Yep, he was the only one who liked piloting that troublesome suit. You know, it was that suit that made your uncle Quatre go crazy and ended up destroying a colony." He sighed thinking about the past." Your father was quite the guy, he could handle the zero system with no sweat."

She studied the model of Wing Zero more closely and said in a nonchalant tone of voice.

" So, what was he like?" She asked not meeting his gaze.

" Who?"

" Heero Yuy. Who else?" She laughed. She didn't feel like calling him her father.

" Oh, him. Well, he looks a lot like you, brown hair, blue eyes." He answered cautiously not wanting to upset her.

" No, that's not what I meant. What was he like as in his personality? " She explained her question.

" Oh, he was quiet, very very quiet. He was so quiet that you feel eerie just to be around him. And he was the Perfect Soldier." He finished.

" That's it? I thought you were considered as one of his best friends. That's all you can say about him?" She spoke incredulously.

" Well, he was a man of a few words. Since he didn't talk much, there were not a lot to say about him." He smiled at her apologetically.

" So, he was a soldier. Let me guess, he was cold, anti-social, and the only thing he did was finishing up his missions." She looked at him in the eye and a sarcastic smirk appeared on her face.

" How, how...?" He was speechless.

" How did I know? Well, what I said would be a typical description of a soldier. Since you said he was the Perfect soldier, I bet he had taken all of that to the next level. Right?" She explained her hypothesis.

" Wow, you are good at analyzing people, Liz. Impressive." He said admiringly.

" Thank you. And uncle Duo, there is one more thing I want to do before you take me home." She smiled at him almost pleadingly.

Please don't say shopping, please don't. I beg you. No, there is no way I'm going shopping with you, even if you are Heero's daughter. Duo shuddered when he remembered that the last time he went shopping with Hilde, he needed two days to recover from the traumatic experience. He sworn to himself, the God of Death, that he would never step a foot into a department store for clothing ever again.

" Sure, Liz, what do you want to do?" He asked while praying in his head.

" Uncle Duo, would you take me to a book store?" The request was made.

" Sure thing Liz, a book store it is." Deep down inside he thanked god and let out a sigh of relief.

They left the museum and proceeded to their next destination. Duo was quite glad that Liz didn't ask to go shopping, and he had found out that she actually despised such an activity. Apparently she viewed shopping as a waste of time, especially when it was treated as a hobby. Duo asked why she wanted to go to a book store instead, and she told him that she needed to get a few books to read.

" So, what kind of books do you read? " Duo wondered.

" Oh, I don't have a specific preference, but today I'm getting some books on psychology." She told him.

" Wow, psychology, interesting subject." He spoke in awe. He was impressed by her again.

" Yeah, it is quite interesting. I have always been fond of this subject, and I spend a lot of time studying it. The human mind and emotions are quite intriguing, don't you think?" She stared into space completely consumed by her own world.

Duo nodded in agreement. He had expected the daughter of Relena and Heero to be quite a person, and he was right about it. Her knowledge might not be extensive but her depth could rival any adults. She was definitely intelligent and bold.

It didn't take very long for her to pick out the books she wanted after they arrived at the book store. Duo suggested that they should go eat lunch since it was already two in the afternoon, but Liz was too caught up in her books to care. Duo walked in the front while she followed him behind with her eyes on one of the books and that book only. He knew that if he didn't go get lunch they would both starve to death. Well, he would be the one to die from hunger, not her.

" Liz, stop reading that book, and can you please walk faster?" He was getting impatient. " Just stop reading it already."

No response came.

" Liz, did you hear what I said? Stop reading the book. We need to get something to eat before I collapse."

Again, no answer.

" Liz, earth to Liz. Hey, can you hear me." He waved his hand in front of her.

Liz had heard him from the beginning, but she ignored him thinking he would just leave her alone and find something to eat by himself. She was wrong though because Duo was still talking and babbling without a stop.

I'm sorry, God Of Death, but you have pushed me to use my last resort. She thought while smirking sadistically.

" Liz, can you hear- " He became quiet all of a sudden. In front of him was Liz with her books closed in her left arm and a gun pointing at him in her right hand.

" Whaaaa... how did... why do you have a gun, Liz?!" He exclaimed with fear seeing an image of Heero in Liz.

" I got the weapon from you. Actually, I took it from you when you weren't looking." She grinned with satisfactory.

" But when?"

" At the museum." She spoke in a sing-song voice.

" Now, Liz, put the gun down, it's very dangerous." He was afraid.

" Don't worry, I know how to handle a gun and I'll have to say I'm pretty good at shooting it too." she gave back the gun to him.

Duo let out a sigh of relief. " I thought you were a pacifist."

" Wrong, I'm not."

" But your mother was a pacifist."

" She was a pacifist. One loses one's ideal when they grow up. "

Duo shuddered a bit and resumed his composure. " So, how did you learn to hold a gun like that?"

" Five years of Self-defense and private combat lessons." She smirked. " I'm also a natural. As much as I hate to admit, I am the heir to the Perfect soldier. "

" Does your mother know about this?" He said disbelievingly.

"Of course, she paid for the tuition."

" Remind me to never piss you off. And I like you much better when you are your mother's daughter.

" Me too."

So he left her at her own slow pace and ran to the sandwich shop a block ahead after telling her to go wait for him at the park opposite of the shop. This way he wouldn't have to worry about her running into a car and getting hurt, or pulling out a gun at somebody, although he wasn't exactly sure of the latter part.

She kept walking toward the direction of the park without lifting her eyes to look for any obstacle in her way, and that was when her head hit something hard which made her whole body and the five books she was carrying fell to the cemented ground. She landed on her bottom and cursed at the thing, or in this case a person.

" Watch where you are going. I'm sure you have seen me reading the book, and you should have stayed away from me. " She brushed off the dirt on her shorts and lifted her head up facing the stranger with annoyance written on her face.

The stranger didn't mutter a single word, and he started to help Liz picking up her fallen books. She was rather displeased at the silence. She thought he would be angry at her for being so rude, but the expected scolding never came. He handed all the books to her before their eyes met. Liz had finally taken a good look at this man. He was quite tall, about 6 feet and two inches. He wore a white button up shirt and black pants, but the simplicity brought out his handsome features. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties with dark brown hair much like hers, yet it was the intensity of his eyes that caught her attention. They were the same color as hers probably even darker and colder. They were eyes of great strength but they were also empty like the void of space. They were familiar too. She wasn't able to see through his exterior. Actually, she did see something beneath his eyes but she wasn't able to comprehend what she saw. No words she knew would describe the feelings she had just by looking at him. This was the first time Liz failed at her talent, she couldn't figure out this guy. There were so much mysteries behind his facade. They stared at each other before he broke the gaze by looking down at the books she was holding.

" Psychology." He spoke the simple word with a low voice.

" Huh?" She didn't catch that.

He didn't repeat the word but pointed at the title of the book with his eyes.

" Oh, yeah, this is a book on psychology. Why?" She was curious.

" You like it? " His voice had not a tone in it, and she couldn't tell if that was a question or a statement.

" Yes, I like this subject. I think it's very intriguing, and I like to learn more about human emotions. You like it too?" She asked in a soft voice still trying to figure out this peculiar stranger.

He shook his head. " I don't understand it."

" You don't understand what? Psychology?" She asked.

"Human mind and emotion." It was as simple as that.

"Oh, that's ok, not a lot of people do." she smiled at him and handed one of the books to him. She suddenly had the urge to help him - a complete total stranger. But somehow she felt that she needed to help him, and it was important for him to understand his own problems.

" Here, take this book. It has some explanation on your questions. You never know, it might help you a little bit. Don't worry about returning this book, just think it as a greeting present from me. If we are meant to meet again, you can return it then, and it would still be fine. Remember, I'll see you when I see you." She grinned.

He was about to thank her but was interrupted by a voice calling out to Liz.

" Liz, where are you?! I've got our lunch. If you don't want yours, can I have it? " It was Duo's voice.

She turned her head to face the direction where the voice came from and yelled back.

" Uncle Duo, I'm over here! And no, you can't have my lunch or else I'll kill you!" She turned back expecting to see the stranger, but he was nowhere in sight. She wondered why he had left and regretted not ever asking him his name. ' At least he took the book with him. He looked like he needed the book more than I do.' She thought while walking to go meet with Duo.

' Weird. Why does he look so familiar, especially those eyes, they almost look like mine. Could he be... could he... no, he couldn't.' But she couldn't confirm since she had never seen a photo of him. ' He still might be him though...'

" Liz, come and get your sandwich, it's not my responsibility to guard it. But I can make it my responsibility to eat it. " Duo grinned at her while trying to grab the sandwich.

" Just remember uncle Duo, if you ever eat my sandwich, I WILL KILL YOU." She gave him her best glare and pulled out a gun pointing to his temple. Her face was expressionless and she threatened him.

" I think this will make it clear. It's my sandwich or your head, uncle Duo." She said coldly. ' I'm such a good actress.' She thought to herself without changing her expression.

" How... how did you get another gun, L..Liz?" He stuttered. " Put the gun down, Liz, and we can talk about the sandwich thing. Don't be like Heero ok? It's really creeping me out. Please?" He pleaded

"No, I'll not put the gun down until I have pulled the trigger and second, do you know that you were carrying two guns? " she shook her head. " Uh, don't ask me how I got it, just pray that you are still alive." With that she pull the trigger.

" Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!.... Huh?" Duo stopped screaming and saw Liz laughing hard at him"

" There... There weren't any bullets, uncle Duo, you should have known that." She said in between of her laughter, and Duo just sat there trying to grasp what had just happened. Luckily he recovered after a minute or two.

" Don't ever do that again!!" He warned her.

" I was only kidding, Duo." She tried to stifle her laughter. " Hey, uncle Duo, while you were gone, I met this..." She paused. " Oh, never mind, it's nothing." she decided not to mention the stranger to him so he wouldn't be worried about her. Besides, she wanted to figure things out first herself before saying anything to anyone else, including her mother.

" Liz, your mom called me when I was buying the food and said that you need to be home before dinner." Duo said with his mouth full. He had gotten over the attack. " She also asked if we survived each other, and I told her that you were in Yuy mode twice today." He winked at her.

She nodded in acknowledgement not caring what he had just said and took a bite at her sandwich. She had given herself a mission, and that would be a complete research on the Gundam pilot Heero Yuy.



chapter 6

Mission status: failure. A miserable, hideous, unexplained, frustrating, exasperating, complete failure. Liz thought she would find something valuable and informative on her so-called biological "father". But no, she was now even more lost and confused on this mysterious Heero Yuy than she was before she conducted this research. Nothing was the word to describe her findings, not even a picture was found of him. She could just go ask her mother for a clue or any other of the people downstairs who were helping uncle Quatre with his complicated yet meaningless trial, but that would only make her appear to be suspicious and answer questions that she had no answers to. Heero Yuy was getting on her nerves, not many people were capable of doing so in her entire sixteen years of life, but he did and that just made her despise him more. She didn't really hate him, how could she hate him when she knows nothing about him except the fact that she was related to him by blood, that she was his daughter. She sat in front of her computer, eyes staring at the monitor without blinking and continued to sulk in her unexpected predicament. Heero Yuy, the very name made her shudder with rage and confusion, not to mention that she had found out that it was only his code name after she shamelessly broke into Preventer's database. His code name, she screamed in her head. Now, she had retreated to the point that she doesn't even know his name, not his real ones anyway. She wondered if anyone knew his real name, if he knew his own real name.

She felt that she had lost her first battle with him, that he had purposely erased himself off the world of data and information. Heero: 1, Liz: 0. She thought with amusement. The next round would be hers, she vowed silently. But it still didn't help a bit to calm her almost hateful wrath. Hate, such a vague word, she thought trying to distract herself from further discontentment. She rationalized her thoughts concentrating on her current situation than just sitting in front of a mute machine complaining about her loss. One thing came to her mind was the stranger in the park. She had almost forgotten that he was the cause of her suffering. She began to loathe him and regret that she had been so nice to him. The stranger was to blame now, not Heero Yuy. No, both of them were to blame. Then, as if lighting had struck her on the head, her doubts were cleared. The stranger was Heero Yuy and vice versa. Although she failed at obtaining a picture of her biological blood relative that she didn't want to call father, but she was certain now that her intuition was right about the stranger being Heero Yuy. Only Heero Yuy had ever caused her emotional distress and the stranger was the sole culprit. There was no need to confirm, it was Heero Yuy she met in the park. The resemblance and everything else she thought was familiar now came together to finish the puzzle.

" Ha, I finally figured it out." She said to herself with a satisfied smile on her face, but the contentment was gone in a second when she realized something else. " He didn't bump into me in an accident. My God! He knew who I am!" She paused letting the realization sink in. " That means he's in the Sank Kingdom right now. And that he would eventually show up at our door step sooner or later." She walked to her bed and laid down. Too much realization in a single day was totally exhausting. She regretted ever caring about her father, and somehow she felt a new fond appreciation for the phrase ' ignorance is bliss.' She was much happier when she was 'ignorant'. But her own stupidity put her intelligence into 'good' use.

Ding Dong. The door bell rang and followed that was Lena's voice from downstairs in the living room.

" Liz, would you get the door, please?" She asked.

Liz got up to her feet and went down the stairs reluctantly. She knew she had to get the door even if she said no to her mother. It was after all a one-sided battle she was fighting. Slowly she brought her body to the door and opened it with annoyance. Whoever was behind that door would be on her hate list next to Heero Yuy.

" Hello. What?! It's you! " She said pointing her finger to the familiar stranger standing on the door step. She never thought her prediction would come true. Maybe she should start a psychic hotline and make a living out of it.

So it was Heero Yuy standing in front of her, but she only acted as if he were still the stranger she met in the park. It was not the right time to pull the plug, and she had other means for this Heero Yuy too, like 'introduce' him to the people inside. That ought to teach him to think twice before giving her a hard time.

" So, what brings you here?" She questioned the ' stranger'. ' I guess drama class didn't go to waste after all.' She thought of her flawless acting. But she knew that he wasn't deceived by her just by looking into his eyes. There was no other choice but keep on acting.

" Returning the book." He answered. A slight hint of amusement in his voice or that could be her figment of imagination.

" You finished that 700-page book in one day?!" She said in awe, but she was acting. She was quite aware of his capabilities, at least she thought she knew.

" Liz, what are you doing out there? Who's at the door?" A voice came from inside. It was her mother's.

Father and daughter both shuddered at the voice, but they hid their fear perfectly well.

" Mom, it's nothing. Just a friend of mine. That's all. Oh, and I'm going to introduce him to you!" She purposely called out louder to emphasize the last statement, but it had no impact on the 'stranger'.

' Fine, let's just see who can keep their facade the longest.' Liz thought.

" So, you want to come in, sir?" She smiled at him innocently. " I really want you to meet my mother and her friends, Mr. And we can talk about the book too." She invited him in.

He stepped into the house and followed her to the living room with absolutely no expressions on his face, but inside he was cursing silently at himself for ever stepping on the door step.

" Mom, and everyone else, " Liz said with a smirk on her face. " meet my new friend." She pointed to the man standing beside her at the entrance to the living room.

" Liz, he better not be your boyfriend - " Lena stopped breathing for a second there, but she recovered nicely after several minutes.

During the time Lena was recovering from her shock, the rest of people in the room gasped, then a long silence followed until Duo stood up angrily and nearly shouted aloud.

" What is wrong with you people. Seriously, first there was Lena, then Liz, now Heero. What the hell is wrong with you?! Stop popping out of nowhere. Did you guys ever heard of telephones? If you want to see us, call first!" He crossed his arms. " Sorry about that, but I really needed to get that out of the system. Now, Heero, what are you doing here?"

" Returning a favor."

" Huh?"

" Elizabeth gave me book to help me on some problems. I'm here to return the favor." That was the typical Heero Yuy speaking.

" Heero Yuy, I think you already knew who Liz is right?" Lena questioned him with no tone in her voice. "And I think you knew about Quatre's case and that's why you are here to return the favor by helping us. Am I right?"

He nodded. She still knew him better than anyone else, better than himself.

The shock died down rather quickly, after all everyone had gotten used to his sudden appearances as well as disappearances.

" Well then, it would be so impolite of me not to formally introduce Liz to you." There was a bit of sarcasm in her voice. " Heero Yuy, this is your daughter Elizabeth Dorlain; Liz, that's your father Heero Yuy."

" Should I say something like nice to meet you Dad or what?"

" Well, if you want to, honey." answered the mother who glared at the father.

" Now, Yuy, we have a meeting going on here. Trowa will give you the details to our plan. Excuse me, but I have things to discuss with Quatre." The mother left the father alone and went to help her client. Heero sighed and walked to Trowa for information.

" Hey, uncle Duo." Liz tried to get Duo's attention. " Uncle Duo, you have a minute? "

" What is it Liz ?"

" Can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure, Kid. I have nothing important to do anyway." Duo walked over to Liz and they both went to the kitchen.

" So what's the matter Liz." Duo spoke while opening the refrigerator looking for a prey to satisfy his predator-like stomach.

" Was he always like that?"

"Who?"

" Yuy." She still refused to call him father.

" Yep," Duo pulled out a piece of frozen pizza and admired its beauty. " He was like that alright. That guy has no emotion at all. Mumm, yum." He took a bite of the pizza.

" That's not true, he has them, he just can't express them effectively."

" What do you mean by that ?" He asked.

" He's human right? Then, he possesses at least five basic human emotions, which are love, anger, fear, grief, and guilt. Which one have you seen him expressing before?"

" Definitely anger. You don't want to be around when he is angry. You can get yourself killed if you do." Duo said with fear.

" Well, that's good. At least he had experienced some emotions correctly before." She said while writing things down on a piece of paper she brought with her to the kitchen.

" Has he ever been to a psychiatrist before?" she asked.

" You mean a shrink. No, he probably would kill them than talking to them."

Liz wrote down more things on the paper. " Good, that's good too."

" Huh, Liz what are you writing over there?" Duo inquired when he finished the last of his snack.

" Just a little plan I'm working on to help Yuy. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous." She smirked sadistically.

" Liz, you are scaring me with that look. Um.. what kind of plan ?" He was truly afraid now.

" Oh, a little experimental psychology I learned. I'm sure it'll be fine, although I never tried it before." She said innocently.

" What are you planning on doing, Liz?" Duo knew that he was in hell now.

" Well, since he wasn't able to express his emotions correctly, I thought I should help him. You see, I'm going to test him on the five human emotions and hopefully he'll learn something from it. All he needs to pass the tests is to be able to express his ... dormant... emotions. If he passes them, I'll accept him as my father and welcome him into this family. If not... well.. I haven't thought what to do yet." She still had that sadistic smirk on her face.

" Sadist."

" Whatever. Do you want to help or not, uncle Duo?"

" Sure, anything to crack the shell of the perfect soldier."

" Ok, here is the plan. We'll begin with guilt, since I'm his daughter, it'll be easy for me. Second, fear. Third, grief. Fourth, anger, since it's part of the five stages of grief. And finally, we have love. Except the first one, we'll need the full cooperation from my mother, and we'll have to talk to her about that later. But as for now, I'll begin Operation 1: the guilt trip."

" You are a sadist, but a nice one." He commented.

Liz ignored Duo's remark and left the kitchen in search of her " father". She had thought of her plan a little too cruel for him, but she somehow believed in him to succeed. She smoothed her clothes and walked with dignity to the living room. This time she was going to win.

" Excuse me everyone, " She cleared her throat and spoke sweetly to her 'father'. " Can I talk to you alone, Daddy?"

[goddesswing]

This is a cute story. ^_^ I like it. Liz seems like a very interesting person. She's really unpredictable! I can't wait, please post the next chapter soon... and I mean SOON! Or else you might get a visit from my Chibi Heero plushie with his water gun.

+::goddesswing::+

[kawaiiemogirl]

This is soo kawaii! It's also a very good story. I love it!