-Chapter 3-

Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing, and you all know that... It belongs to, like, Bandai and some other companies too, and I don't have the faintest ideas which ones.

Notes: Too many characters introduced last chapter, hm? ^_^; Well, they will play a MAJOR part in the story later, so bear with me, k?

~*~*~*~

"Another Gundam..." Kazuki whispered, hardly able to let herself believe the thought.

Nagi, getting more serious, was the one who explained the situation, "Well, our sensors back at headquarters detected five other really large objects falling down to the Earth, besides your Gundam, but including the one that dropped into the ocean."

Sara nodded, adding, "We wouldn't have thought it possible, but Dr. Kang said that unless they were meteorites or something like that, which is very unlikely, those things could be Gundams like yours. All those objects we detected were the right size, so he said that they well, could be..."

"Oh geez... This is getting re-" Kazuki broke off as she stopped speaking, coming up with a sleepy yawn instead. Rubbing her eyes; she continued, "It's all getting real complicated, but I don't want to think about it right now, I've gotten no sleep since yesterday. Transmit the details to Phoenix, 'k, Josh? I'm going back."

Kazuki ran off, leaving the three other Hoshima soldiers standing in the lonely churchyard. Sarah and Nagi both started off, than turned back when they noticed Josh wasn't leaving.

"Uh... Josh?" Sarah came back and poked him gently in the shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry." he apologized curtly, than he also turned around and headed off in the same direction as Nagi.

Oh, Josh... I know you miss him... We all do. Sarah thought becoming suddenly sad and silent for just a moment before she too headed off into the blackness of the 2:45 a.m. sky.

~*~*~*~

If both Heero and Kazuki had barely been listening or paying attention in their classes yesterday, neither of them were paying any attention today. While Heero was thinking out how to best complete his mission quickly, Kazuki was really just trying not to fall asleep. She was supposed to have, as part of her training, built up the endurance to go through at least two days of no rest without feeling the effects, but she had never really gotten herself up to that level. Sure, she could run farther and faster than she could have in the past, as well as do many things she couldn't do before the strenuous pilot training she had put herself through, but she still couldn't quite do some things right. Still, you did real great in ten months what took Ryan more than a year to accomplish, but some things can't be rushed. Kazuki reminded herself, even as she stifled another yawn.

~*~*~*~

That night, though, Kazuki's senses were on the alert, and she was prepared for anything, not that there was anything really important to do yet, anyway. Right now, she just thought that she would feel more comfortable if she knew that her mobile suit would be ready for her next task. Being out and about at 1:00 in the morning would be a difficult thing to explain, so she did know that she had to be alert and ready to hide, nonetheless.

Her thoughts broke off as she heard something, no it was a person, she was sure of it, and it was someone trying to conceal their presence, a possible threat. Instantly, her mental stance changed, and she felt all unnecessary thoughts filed away and all her mind devoted to calculating possible courses of action.

"Show yourself, or I'll shoot." she called out in an expressionless tone of voice in the general direction of the other person in the forest.

Making no noise at all, a familiar form stepped out, without a word. Kazuki found herself less than surprised at who it was. So he had been suspicious of her too.

"Heero Yuy." she whispered vehemently.

"Kazuki North... Or should I say, pilot of the Phoenix Gundam?" he replied.

She sighed, she really didn't feel like a lengthy, difficult conversation right now, "So you know. Do you work for Oz, and will I have to kill you now? Or do you work for the colonies?" she demanded, pointing her gun at him.

"I can't reveal that information."

Kazuki felt a little despair rising as she realized she might have to kill him. Despite her emotionless expression, she was afraid to kill. Besides the one battle she had fought against other mobile suits, she had never killed another human, but those had been the enemy. This person could be innocent for all she knew, but she had no choice. War is pain, in more ways than one. You can't always be a weakling in all matters, you have to be strong, if not for yourself, than for the colonies. There are casualties in every war, but your survival is important to the battle. Do it, Kazuki, you should feel nothing. She lifted the gun again, at where Heero was, but he was gone...

She was nearly too late to dodge his blow, if it had hit, it might have knocked her to the ground, and she had dropped her handgun. Where was it? If he got to it, then she would be in a real mess, but there was no time to think about that now. Kazuki quickly regained her footing, and struck, aiming a kick at his stomach; she had handled many situations like this where her opponents' attacks came at her without warning. If the situation been less serious, she would have laughed, as this fight reminded her of her practice duels with Josh, Nagi, Sarah, and earlier on, with Ryan too. While Sarah relied on her own skills and instincts alone, she always struck fast and relentlessly, subduing her opponents quickly, Nagi and Ryan had no qualms about using dirty tricks in a real confrontation, and Josh just went straight for a well-planned knockout, Kazuki had no unique style, and just used a little bit of everything. Even then, she could never manage to do right anyway. It made for a very unbalanced and predictable fight for any person she faced. Again, ten months or so of training wasn't enough to learn some skills

If you don't retrieve your weapon, you won't have a chance... She knew that, but where was it? She had less than a moment to scan the ground for it, and she couldn't see it. Once again, she and Heero exchanged blows, though both opponents managed to block those strikes. Unfortunately, Heero was still much faster, and the next time Kazuki went in to strike, he knocked her off balance, and she fell face-up onto the ground.

In the next second, Kazuki found herself looking squarely at the barrel of her gun, pointed right at her face. But, she was no stranger to being at the losing end of a fight, and two seconds later, Heero was also knocked to the ground, when she kicked his leg hard. The gun dropped to the floor again, as both people got up.

He could have killed you then, but he didn't. She puzzled over his hesitation as she faced him again, and, to her own surprise, found herself speaking out, "I'm not going to fight you again. Call me stupid, but I- I think I can trust you, I don't know why... not really, but I trust my own feelings." Then, in a moment of her false, cheery personality, she smiled, "I don't want to make enemies of those who are not fighting against me... Let's not fight."

He remained silent, his cold blue eyes as bleak and empty as ever. Heero Yuy remained silent as he turned and just walked off, startling her. As he walked off, Kazuki heard him say something like, "Don't interfere with my mission."

If he had come to scare her, though, she was ashamed to admit he almost had. She sighed, scuffing her foot in the ground as she walked to the spot where she had left the Phoenix. There it was, silently sitting there in the moonlight, it's metallic 'face' blank yet comforting in its familiarity. It was really odd to most others who saw the Gundam, and had lived to tell about it, that the "Phoenix" was made out of green, blue, and silvery colored metals, but Kazuki, Nagi, Sarah, and Josh had named it the Phoenix, because it had been reborn, in a way, with the training of a new pilot after the original one had died.

"Well, Phoenix..." she whispered as she slipped into the cockpit, "It's been a really long day."

-End Part 3-