Pushed Beyond Limits

 

~~~ I’ve hit an all time low with my writer’s block, yet I’ve had this urge to write this fic for a while now. It’s going to be different, more so than usual, so be prepared. It also may take me a while to turn out new chapters because of events pending in my ‘normal’ life, but hell, I promise I won’t leave it hanging! Last thing! I feel I should mention: Moon/ Yui pairing, like always. ( Come on, you didn’t think I’d change now, now did you?) ~~~

 

WARNING 1: RATED FOR A GOOD REASON: violence, *adult issues*, & *lime.*

 

WARNING 2: I DO NOT BELIEVE IN DISCLAIMERS. Have a problem? Good, I didn’t think so.

 

~~Well, let’s on with it, shall we? ~~

 

Chapter One: The Unsung Hero’s Price

 

            *The busy streets were cold and dirty. The air was filled with a heavy layer of soot and snow, mingling and making breathing hard for the young and old. Those who dared smiled and waved at one another, those who did not walked briskly and coolly towards their destination. The shops of the dying city were in tatters, war stricken and beaten. Those that had been deemed free of structural problems were open, yet hardly anyone filled them. Children wandered aimlessly through the streets, calling for someone, anyone, who would help them find their missing parents. Dogs barked, snarling and growling at all who dared enter their alleyways. People filled the street, forming two lines- one for unemployment, and the other for food.

            This was the world he had come to when it was all over. This was the world he had decided he was worthy of. As the chilly air nipped his cheeks, he too took his place in the unemployment line. Was this what he had fought for? As a soldier he had learned that the people of both Earth and the colonies were being oppressed. But he had grown up in space. He had never seen poverty as Earth had it. To him it almost seemed unreal. The colony that had raised him had never had such problems, nor would they have tolerated them. Was this the result of the war? Perhaps it would have been better for it to have kept going.

 The soldiers would not have come back home; only to find loved ones had been killed by the fighting. Soldiers would not come home, trained to do nothing but pilot, or to use a gun. Soldiers would not have come home to search for a job and some security, to come back to an empty alleyway at the end of the day, empty handed, and half starving.

“Next in line.” The man ahead grumbled. Hiiro Yui sighed. Fifth day in a row he had searched for a job. Originally he had taken a job analysis test, to see what sort of job he would be fit for. He had passed it with flying colors; he was fit for all jobs, even better than ‘fit’ in most cases. But when the woman who had been administering the test gave him a list of possible jobs and he read the list, he had burned it in front of her. She had given him a list of executive jobs- jobs for high-ranking officials and people who got better than the average pay. He didn’t deserve those jobs. Those jobs should be reserved for the true soldiers. The ones who were worse off in life than he. At least he had his survival skills to fall back on. Those men who had nothing but the memories of bloody battles fought should be the ones given the chance to succeed.

“Next in line.” The man’s gruff voice sounded annoyed. Hiiro woke from his memory and stepped forward. “You again kid? When are you going to learn? If you don’t want the jobs we’ve suggested, go find your own job.”

“Have any new positions opened?” Hiiro asked, ignoring the man’s rude comments.

“No. Not since yesterday. And when you were here yesterday, you gave that job to the man behind you. Stop being such a bleeding heart! Look, unemployment rates are up one hundred and ten percent since the end of the war. The soldiers are coming home and looking for jobs so they can settle in with their families. Now kid, if you don’t take the jobs we offer you, others are going to get them. Stop feeling sorry for everyone you come across and think of yourself. How long do you think you’ll last on the street without a job? Huh kid?”

“As long as I need to.” Hiiro nodded coolly at the man, then turned and walked off, leather flight jacket slung over one shoulder, gun tucked carefully at his side in its holster.

“That kid. He’ll be the death of me.” The man at the unemployment table swore under his breath as he watched the solemn boy walk out into the heavy crowd. “Next in line. Come on buddy, time doesn’t stop for the likes of you and me, let’s go.”

Hiiro just continued walking down the street. He had nowhere to go. His fellow pilots had each returned to someone. Duo to his girlfriend, Hilde, on the colony L2. Trowa to his girlfriend, Catherine, on L3. Quatre had gone back to L4 with his sister Iria to complete family business affairs, and Wufei Chang worked for the Preventers with his ‘partner; Sally. Why didn’t Hiiro join the Preventers? He didn’t belong there. He had fought for so long. He didn’t want to fight any more. He would be a danger to even to himself if he continued perfecting his already sufficiently deadly skills. He walked on.

 The snow and ash were falling more heavily now. Ash from the coal yards only a few blocks down the road. For all that that they had advanced technologically, coal was still a huge product used for heating, power, and other such things. It seemed as if the black clouds above had stopped snowing the angelic white they usually showered the world in, and instead they were coating the dead world in black. Like nature’s way of mourning the loss and destruction, the inevitable downfall, of her own prodigy species: humanity.

“Hey, there’s a hot one.” A high voice drawled sweetly in his ear. “Hey there. I’m looking for some fun tonight. Would you like to join me?” The woman winked and smiled devilishly. Hiiro paused, slightly shocked.

“No.” He managed to answer.

“Of course I’ll pay you. What are your fees per hour baby?” She frowned and made a second attempt. Hiiro stayed frozen. The woman thought he was a…a… she thought he sold himself for one night stands?

“I’m not interested in that sort of thing. Go home and get your sex from your husband.” He choked out rudely. Immediately he regretted it. As disgusted as he was with the woman’s suggestion, he felt a surge of pity when her eyes drooped and her head hung.

            “He’s gone and died in the war, fool that he was.” Her head shot up. “Well then. You shouldn’t be over here walking if you’re not for sale.”

            “Excuse me?” Hiiro blinked. His ideals of emotions being non-existent momentarily failed him as he let surprise overtake him.

            “This is where all the prostitutes work, or didn’t you know that?” She snapped. Obviously he had hurt her. She looked so lonely, so small and depressed.

            “I didn’t know. I’m sorry to have lead you on.”

            “Don’t think of it. I was surprised there might be a man around here. There're always women prostitutes around for the soldiers, but no one ever thinks of us widows, or even the female soldiers. We got needs too, or didn’t you know that?”

            “I didn’t know.”

            “You don’t know a lot, do you boy?”

            “I know enough.” He said curtly. Why was he still speaking to this woman? That pity feeling again. He could empathize with her loneliness. But he could not cure it.

            “Not enough. All I wanted was one night to forget Jack. Just one. But that won’t happen, will it?”

            “In probability, no.”

            “You look lonely too. Here now. Just one night with me, and I bet we won’t be near so lonely till morning. And look, you even make money out of the deal. Sounds pretty good, don’t it? Money and companionship, and all you have to do is have a little fun with me. Sure you won’t take me up on that offer?” A split second decision on his part.

            “Fifty dollars an hour. Which direction do you live?”

            “Now that’s the spirit. Come on baby, let’s go quick. The sooner we start, the sooner we forget.” Hiiro let the woman lead him through the black streets. She was right. It wasn’t such a bad deal. He would have a place to sleep, his loneliness, the war, would be forgotten, and he would get paid for it. Besides. It was getting cold out, even for the most Perfect of Soldiers.*