<takes a deep breath to recover from long title, then continues on….>
“In Her Heart”
Written for Ms. Lewkowski’s Advanced Journalist Class
Duo: <Walks up> Hey, buddy, whatcha up to? Not another mission? <Peeks over shoulder> Ahh…working on that essay assignment, are you now? Ya know, I don’t get you; I’d never have expected YOU, of all people, to sign up for Journalism. I mean, you have no idea how shocked I was to see you walk through the classroom door. <Pulls up a chair without missing a beat> Well, one thing’s for certain: I’m sure not about to miss this!
Once upon a time…
Duo: Oh, for crying out loud, I know you can do better than that; you sound like that Catelonia girl!
* * * * * * * *
Once upon a midnight scary…
Duo: I said better, not worse!
* * * * * * * *
There once was a girl from Nantucket…
Duo: Okay, now you’re not even trying.
* * * * * * * *
As of the birth of her latest project…
Duo: Thaaaat’s better… <Mutters *Nantucket, indeed!*>
…hard times were now upon her. Decisions…Speeches…
Duo: You’re losing me…
…all these things began to take their toll on her.
Duo: Ya know, you suck with names.
It didn’t help to find the one she had [unexpectedly] come to love had left her.
Duo: Oh, he didn’t leave; he just stalks her from the shadows.
She never even got to say goodbye….
Duo: Sheesh! Talk about rude…
She knew why he had left, however…or rather, thought she knew why:
Duo: He got bored watching you attempting to write this thing.
The ‘Perfect Soldier’ couldn’t possibly feel, or afford to feel, such emotions
Duo: <’Perfect Soldier’> That damn Doctor J. doesn’t pay me enough…I knew I shoulda taken that teaching course instead….
She figured he would never love her back.
Duo: Well, how about her front?
But he never told her.
Duo: Hmm…. Shouldn’t it be “He”ero?
In fact, he wasn’t even sure himself.
Duo: See? Even “He” doesn’t know what you’re talking about.
After all, he had started out trying to kill her! Talk about irony….
Duo: Yes, lets. First off, there’s the undeniable fact that… <Stops instantly as writer clicks his gun> Uh…nevermind!
Yet, for some reason, she had stared down the barrel of his gun more times than even he could recollect…
Duo: He lost count at twenty.
…and still survived!
Duo: <’She’ a la Aretha Franklin> *Oh, no no I…I will survive…oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive…*
In fact, as time went on…
Duo: (monotonous) and on, and on, and on, and on…
It became harder and harder for him to pull the trigger.
Duo: (monotonous) and harder, and harder, and harder, and harder…
(Though, he wouldn’t necessarily have minded pulling it on Shinigami, a.k.a., Duo).
Duo: eep! Gomen, gomen! I get the picture.
There was just something about her that stopped him each time…the look in her eyes, perhaps?
Duo: Perhaps…
Everytime she looked at him like that,
Duo: …I just wanted to throw up!
He would freeze. Her determination was just so strong, as well as her heart.
Duo: But, the human tongue is the strongest muscle of all, or did you already know that? *wink, wink*
After all, her heart somehow found him.
Duo: (this time, NOT monotonous) …again, and again, and again…
Each time, something inside him seemed to spark…
Duo: But, of course, that was just his Gundam’s self-detonation switch.
And he, too, began to feel something towards her.
Duo: …hehe…I won’t even touch that one.
Just as she did for him. Over time, this…*feeling*…grew. She stopped following him around, and…
Duo: He started stalking HER, instead.
He no longer found himself pointing his weapon at her. Rather, he was pointing weapons away from her. He became her protector. Her guardian…
Duo: Oh, I’m pretty sure they’re more than just that.
Her closest friend.
Duo: Riiiight.
They subconsciously grew closer and closer with each encounter.
Duo: But HOW close? (snickers) They’ll never tell!
In heart, spirit, and mind. Mind especially; at some point, they began to ‘read’ each other; know what the other was thinking, feeling, etc. They seemed to almost link in that sense. Words were soon not needed to communicate...each could feel the other’s heart.
Duo: @.@ …huh?
But that didn’t help her now. She had lost contact after he left; where he was now was unknown. Before, her heart always seemed to sense his presence, but now…nothing. It wasn’t her fault.
Duo: Oh, of course not…but knowing you, it’s probably my fault; don’t know how, don’t know why, but it’s all my fault!
He had to leave. After all, there was no place for him in a world of peace.
Duo: Hmm…first Dorothy, now Wufei. Are you sure this is going to pass as an original work?
He was a soldier. Trained from birth to do nothing but fight. He never expected to live through to see the outcome…peace.
Duo: Especially with a death wish like his.
But he found he just couldn’t leave. Sure, there was no place for him in a peaceful world, but there was no place for him anywhere else, either. After a long, hard decision, he joined the Preventers’ S.U. (Special Unit).
Duo: Copycat
There, he was put in charge of guarding her. Though it pained him to not be able to talk to her, he was able to watch her from afar, keep her from harm. He became her shadow.
Duo: hehe…The Shadow’s watching you…
She never saw him. He was rather good at hiding himself from her. It was what he had always trained for, after all.
Duo: <narrator> I mean, *besides* Piloting a Gundamium mobile suit and committing suicide at a moment’s notice…though, I guess that training didn’t go so well, now did it?
He watched her at every speech…every meeting…every moment she was out in public. Each time, he felt that little pang in his heart he never knew of until he had met her.
Duo: Oh geez…just say it already!
He loved her.
Duo: There, now…was THAT so hard?
One who had been stripped of all emotions at a young age…somehow, had found them again because of her. Each time he was to watch over her, those emotions surfaces until it became almost unbearable.
Duo: Love Hurts. In my case, in the form of multiple head injuries…<Holds back of head, as if in pain, in rememberence>
He learned to deal. He had to. For her.
Duo: Riiiiight
So each day passes with him watching over her, protecting her, but her never knowing. It was better this way.
Duo: Not.
Over time, he took up school. It’s not that he really needed to, it’s that he needed something to occupy his life when he wasn’t needed.
Duo: Not exactly the BEST choice in the world, but, hey…
His life became somewhat normal.
Duo: He stopped trying to kill his friends and gained half a personality.
He had a life now.
Duo: Who woulda thought every time I said, “Get a life,” someone actually listened!
He had a home. He had a purpose. Maybe, just maybe, one day…he would have her. On the other side of the invisible barrier he had placed, she thought the same thing
Duo: <’she’>“Who put this wall here?”
Maybe, just maybe, one day he would come back. Sure, many guys had asked her out, but not once did she accept. Her heart was taken already, whether he knew it or not.
Duo: Apparently, he does.
Just as he knew she had stolen his heart long ago…she knew she would always have a place for him, whether psychically or spiritually, in her heart.
Duo: Oooh…cheep usage of title-insersion.
Perhaps their mysterious mental link was not broken after all.
Duo: Does this mean that they *still* talk to each other, even if they’re, like, fifty-thousand miles apart? Creepy….
They both had the same wish…the same prayer. In their hearts, they both wished to be together. Perhaps one day, this wish will come true. As with so many other things, it’s all a matter of the heart.
Duo: But of course, ‘he’ always thinks with his head, and not his heart.
THE END
Duo: …for both you and your writing career. <notices the writer standing up> What, done all ready? I was just getting started…. <Notices the trademark Death Glare coming from the writer> …what?
~*~The Next Day~*~
The teacher had just finished grading the papers, and was handing them back.
Teacher: I must admit, we have many talented writers in this class, but I must congratulate one in particular. His short, yet descriptive story was so insightful; one would assume it was based on an event that actually happened! <Walks over to the Writer> Congratulations, Heero. I must admit; I would have never expected such a soulful entry from you.
Heero: (takes paper from teacher, still same monotonous voice/expression) Arigato, sensei.
Teacher: <looks at desk next to him> I was wondering…do you have any idea where Duo is today? He usually never misses class….
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Meanwhile, back at Heero’s apartment, a figure could be seen in the dark, moving around ever so slightly. Upon closer glance, we find this figure to be tied up in a chair, blindfolded and gagged. All struggles against the knot tied at the back of the chair seemed futile as it seemed expertly tied….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero: <smirking ever so slightly *gasp!*> No, not a clue.
The teacher just shrugged, as she walked back to the front of the classroom to continue with the day’s lesson. Heero took out his school binder to put his latest work away, and opened the binder. Just as he was about to close it, he glanced one more time at the paper and sighed
Heero: <in an almost inaudible whisper> One day. I promise.
And with that, he carefully closed the cover to his binder, and turned his attention to the head of the class….
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