Gundam Wing is not mine. :-( Shut up! I can live in my own little world can't I?

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Shi-chan: On to chapter three!
Duo: ...I'm still confused.
Shi-chan: I don't blame you. You should read the reviews I got, they know even less than you!
Duo: That's possible?
Shi-chan: Oh, yes. It's quite possible. I can't wait to see the reactions I get when I start in a little more on Mayumi...oh yes...
Duo: Ano....
Shi-chan: Heheheh...

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Star Crossed, Forever Lost
~By Shimegami-chan
Part 3
Shounen ai, and some weird stuff...but not yet, this chapter's still introducing everything...



Seki was released from the hospital later that day, but Mayumi had no such luck. The doctors weren't letting her go until they observed her a little longer and got some more information on her, but none was to be found. The L2 resident directory had turned up absolutely no one by the name of Mayumi Maxwell, and Seki was completely stumped.

That's what she said her name was. Could she have been lying to me?

Those violet eyes...

"Mayumi is the name I was given."

By who?

By her parents? By those who had adopted her? She had said she was adopted, hadn't she? But Mayumi was at least in her 30s...maybe Mayumi had been her real name, and she was registered under her guardian's names.

But no, that didn't make sense--did it? If she preferred to be called Mayumi, wouldn't she have had it officially changed?

Leaving the hospital and her new friend behind, Seki set out to do some detective work of her own.


-------------------------

Luckily her boss had heard about the accident and about the sole survivors, and was no less than surprised when Seki strode in the door and headed straight for her office.

"Tezuka-san! Is that you?"

"Katchi-san, it's me. Sorry I've been delayed..."

Mr. Katchi laughed heartily. "No bother, no bother! They called me as soon as they determined you had survived--one of those times when you wish you had relatives on L2 ne?" The plump man winked at Seki. "Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to come back to work just yet. Not after that."

"Arigatou, Katchi-san. I won't be here long then, I need to look up some information on the other crash victim. She's amnesiac."

"Sure, lock up the office when you're done. Okay?"

"Hai!" Seki sat down and logged into her computer. She was planning to sift through the old news stories--since she couldn't get into the L2 archives this was the best she could do--and check over the birth and death announcements. Being a journalist had great perks at times, she reflected.

Seki typed in 'Mayumi Maxwell,' into the search key and came up with several entries.

The first didn't seem to be of much concern for Mayumi, but it held personal interest for Seki. The article read, '...pilot Duo MAXWELL was released from custody today by force. The L2 native, pilot of the gundam Deathscythe, had been captured two weeks ago by enemy forces. MAXWELL has since disappeared again, taking his Gundam with him..." the article continued, and Seki read it all with interest. As she had told Mayumi, she found the war and the Gundams especially intriguing. The article was dated nearly 20 years ago--in AC 195.

The next was an obituary of a Father Maxwell. A link led to another article on the church the man had been with, and this second article proved to be slightly more fruitful. '... what can only be called the MAXWELL Church Massacre. Only one survivor came forth from the destruction, one of the orphaned children. The child disappeared before any inquiries could be made.'

There weren't many orphanages on L2, Seki knew. Was Mayumi connected to the Maxwell Church Massacre somehow? It didn't seem likely, considering how the report told of the single survivor. But the coincidence of the name "Maxwell," seemed to spark something in the back of Seki's mind. Maybe there had been another survivor that no one had known about? Or maybe Mayumi was that lost child?

Other than that, the only Maxwell reference she turned up was another on Father Maxwell, a birth record from AC 150. Nothing at all connected to Seki, unless she was some relation to Father Maxwell, which seemed fairly unlikely.

Seki peered in dismay at the screen before her. Even more disturbing was the fact that her search had only uncovered those two articles and the two records, nothing more. Maxwell wasn't a very common name, but she knew that there should have been more than that. For instance, the pilot Duo Maxwell had neither a birth nor a death record according to her data. Of course, Maxwell had disappeared many years back, after the war, but if he was an L2 native--and the first article had stated that he was--then why didn't he have a birth record? Mayumi had also directly mentioned that she was native to L2, yet she had no record either. The only information Seki had to go on was that of the Maxwell Church, and nothing had been known about the young survivor of the attack or where he or she was now.

With a sigh, Seki grabbed her laptop from the table and started back to the hospital.




---------------------



When Seki arrived in Yumi's hospital room, the American was getting some much-deserved rest, although it looked anything but peaceful. Mayumi seemed to be caught in the middle of a nightmare, not so terrible that she cried out, but to the point that she whimpered and shivered and talked in her sleep quietly, pleading with someone or something.

The Canadian woman hurried to Yumi's side, where the chestnut-haired beauty was clutching the sheets and moaning softly. "Quatre...you said he was here, you said so! Didn't you see him at all?"

Seki filed this information away for future reference before gently shaking her friend awake. "Mayumi? Hey, wake up!"

Yumi opened her violet eyes and focused them on the other girl. "Shiseki. Hi, Seki-chan."

"You were having a nightmare." Seki's emerald eyes gazed into the indigo orbs. "Are you okay?"

Yumi's eyes seemed to hold Seki in place for eternity. They were wise and childlike at the same time, frightened and confident. They were eyes that knew too much, yet were still full of joy and wonder and love.

Seki blinked and stood up straight. "I..."

"I'm fine," Mayumi sighed, sitting up. "I just want out of here." The sheets fell away from her body, revealing a loose-fitting purple sweater and black slacks.

"Still wouldn't wear the hospital gown, ne?" Seki nodded at the outfit, which looked out of place against the white hospital sheets.

"No." Mayumi looked tired.

"Did you want me to loan you some clothes? Is it just that you don't want to wear their stuff?"

"I'd like that...it's just that I can't wear...anything that's...open."

"Open?" What was she getting at?

Mayumi sighed. "I don't want people to see me...I don't know why, not yet. I need long sleeves, pants...I need to cover every part of me that I can."

Maybe she cuts herself, or has scars. Seki didn't want to pry into the mysterious girl's life, even if Mayumi didn't really remember it. "I'll bring you back some of mine then."

"Would you?" Yumi grinned. "I'd really appreciate that."

"Sure, we're about the same size. I've got some things to do, so I'll drop them over, and then I've gotta go for a while...work to do on one of the other colonies."

"Oh." Yumi looked disappointed. "Chances are I won't be out of here by then anyway."

"Well then, I'll get back as soon as I can and check on you ne?" Seki said cheerfully.

"Thanks a lot," Mayumi's voice was warm. She had an interesting voice, Seki would admit, somewhere between a high tenor and a low alto. Probably an amazing singing voice.

Seki grinned. "I don't mind in the least.... you saved my life after all. We're friends, right?"

"Right." Mayumi looked relieved and Seki was glad.

"Back in a bit. See you!" Seki waved and closed the door.

She had a lot of work ahead of her.