Damn I wish Hilde would wake up. Talking to her sure
beats watching a girl and a guy do sexual gestures on TV.
"Locked in a contemplative state while watching Classic
MTV, I see."
*Hilde?*
She walked towards me as I turned my head to look. She
was wearing a sweater and jogging pants.
She frowned at me.
"What's the problem? You seem so surprised."
She's awake already?
Oh... Now I remember. Early morning jog.
"Nothing," I gave her a reassuring smile, "I just
forgot you work out every morning."
"Forgot?" She relaxed a little, but a small frown
remained. "_We_ have been jogging together for about a month
already."
She moved closer and sat beside me. She then looked
into my eye. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been zoning
out a lot lately."
I evaded her gaze for a moment and started to think.
I can't make her worry about me. If I told her everything I
saw yesterday, she would've dismissed it, saying it was just
an effect of fatigue, then she'd ask me to take a nap, relax,
forget about my chores for the day, etc...
In a sense, she would baby me.
'Oh great, Duo,' a little voice in the back of my head
(which could've been my conscience) began, 'You've made this
girl lose her job *and* persuaded her to allow you to stay in
her house. Now you're going to drag her into another fine mess
you've fallen into?'
Taking a deep breath, I quickly planned a course of
action. First, I'd act normally and lie. Then, I'll continue
acting normally to avoid unwanted attention from Hilde until
I get my drugs. After that, I'll make sure she'd forget every-
thing about this matter.
(I planned all that in less than a second!?! Man, this
is getting weirder!)
I met her gaze. I could see deep in her blue eyes that
she is really worried about me.
Okay, time for step 1.
"I'm fine," I was still smiling to make her believe that
*I'm* actually fine. Now, all I have to do is to make a false
explanation why I'm zoning out, "A bit shaken up from yesterday,
though, but I'm fine."
I reached for the remote control and turned the TV off.
o/~ and you can give it to me when I tell you coz--
"So," I changed the topic, "how many miles will we jog today?"
-|||-
"How many miles will we jog today?" Duo asked.
Hilde rolled her eyes. 'He's doing it again,' she
thought, 'evading me and changing the subject when I ask him
if there's something wrong. He's got to be hiding something
from me.'
"Oh, the usual five."
Despite his weariness, Duo was able to force a grin.
"Let's go then."
He stood up and *jogged* *happily* out the door.
Hilde sighed.
-|*|-
We jogged the early morning streets of L2 colony. At
this time, the Radiation Emitters which manipulate the light
and heat of the colony create a climate similar to Earth's at
4 AM. In other words, it was cold and dark.
But in *other* words, it was dull and boring. The
route we took had endless rows of houses to provide the
*lowest* amount of sightseeing pleasure. I wasn't amused
by jogging also. Besides, I could jog for over 20 miles
without catching my breath.
Hilde, my faithful companion, was beside me trying
to keep up with my pace. Though she looks like a normal girl
of her age, the OZ military training she underwent made her
stronger and tougher than other people. That means, while
ordinary people would break down at around 700 yards, she
could go as far as 3 miles nonstop. Her limit also sets the
boundary where we should jog back home.
We have covered around 2 to 3 miles already. She'll
stop to catch her breath any second now.
" There goes my queue.
I stopped to look at Hilde, who was now sitting on
"Tir-"
Just then, her weary appearance reminded me of last
***
<...wasn't wearing beret...>
<...frayed hair, signs of a struggle...>
***
In the middle of my musings, Hilde kicked my shin.
"OW! What was that for!?!?"
"You were zoning out again!"
Oh great, I was making sure she'd forget all about
"I was just pondering on how cute you look when
She responded by giving me a stronger kick to the shin.
"Do you think I'd fall for that stupid trick?"
"Hmm... mayb-" I stopped mocking her as she threatened
She murmured something like "idiot" under her breath
"Ready?" She was visibly annoyed so I asked politely.
"Sure. whatever." She began to jog ahead of me.
I never knew she was *that* sensitive regarding
-|*|-
The rest of the morning went on smoothly. We cata-
After lunch, we took the day off. Hilde had to study
It's also the perfect time to buy my drugs. She won't
-|*|-
I took a stroll on the streets of L2. It wasn't as
On my way to the drugstore, I occupied myself by
If it wasn't for the "Retro" law of 1 AC, which
Speaking of car accidents, a group of curious onlookers
"The red car lost control and crashed onto the green
Funny, I was thinking about people ramming their heads
I thanked the man and continued on my way.
-|*|-
It took me quite some time to find my medicine. Most
-|*|-
Hilde was still studying for her exams when I arrived
"I don't have the time to cook so I called for pizza,"
I didn't have something witty to say for the moment (she
I went to the kitchen and started to eat "dinner".
I hoped I would get a good night's sleep.
-|||-
Having spent over seven hours in reviewing for her
"That must be Duo's medicine," She thought.
Partially due to worry ("Duo is sick?"), partially
"Esilgan? This sounds familiar."
She went to her computer at the garage and searched
----------------
Name of Drug... Esilgan
Manufacturer... B Takeda
Contents... Estazolam
Indications... Sleep disturbances due to nervousness, anxiety,
----------------
Hilde felt worry building up inside her. Even before
But beneath this worry, she also felt a breach of
"Does this mean he doesn't trust me?" she asked herself.
A weird idea popped into her head.
"Or maybe he doesn't even treat me as a *friend*? After
She shook her head.
"NO! Duo's not like that! Even though he has killed many
"He even gave me a better source of income than
But another dreadful possibility came into mind.
"Maybe he's just using me, someone with knowledge
"Or worse, he'd kill me to cover up the evidence."
"..." Hilde paused for a moment when she realized
She also took a mental note to pass by Duo's room
End Chapter 2
Written by: KA/GAMI (formerly known as "Duo")
Creator's notes:
I got bored with this fic. Furthermore, my group (Gray Warlock)
New author's notes #2:
I like playing with words. So for those of you Pinoy readers
E-Mail KA/GAMI at: aerolbj@i-next.net!
the ground, breathing heavily. She stared at me, waiting for
one of my mock insults ("Tired already?"). I was a bit
playful at the moment so I was happy to oblige.
night's dreams.
that by teasing her then I zone out again. Better make up
something quick before she begins interrogating me.
you're like this." I gave her a mischievous grin.
to kick something higher than my shin.
and stood up without asking my help.
comments on her looks.
logued the amount of salvaged materials we had and sold
some scrap metal to another vehicle construction company.
for her Colonial History, Math and Physics exams tomorrow,
giving me the freedom of doing anything I want.
even know I bought some.
dull as before because of the increased presence of citizens
and vehicles on the road. But still, it is boring.
brooding over the technological advances that could've been
used for better purposes other than war. For example, the
Inertia Stabilizers which prevent Mobile Suit pilots and
shuttle passengers from crushing themselves from forces over
10 g's could be used in cars.
prohibits technological advances to be used for non-military
purposes and major advances in lifestyle beyond 1995 *AD*,
we would be driving hovercars which also protect the drivers
from ramming their heads on the steering wheel even though they
didn't wear a seatbelt.
a block away surround the scene of a head-on collision between
2 cars . Help has arrived in the form of police cars and para-
medics. Being curious myself, I decide to ask someone what
happened here.
one on the next lane," The man answered, "The driver of the
red car wasn't wearing a seatbelt so he rammed his head on
the steering wheel and died on the spot."
into steering wheels because they weren't wearing seatbelts.
drug stores in L2 carry small amounts of the drug, especially
in these troubled times. But today, it seems that the number
of people suffering from insomnia due to war trauma has risen
dramatically. I have gone through all of the major pharmacies
and yet none of them had any stock of the drug available. By
the time that I was finished, it was already getting dark.
home. She was reviewing some notes in the living room while
munching on a slice of pizza. Though she had noticed my entry
into the room, the didn't even bother to look at me. Instead,
she absent-mindedly pushed the pizza box towards my direction.
after taking a last bite from the pizza, she wrote down some
numbers on a pad paper and began punching in numbers in the
calculator. "Don't worry, I left some for you."
wouldn't listen to me anyway, she's too engrossed in studying)
but I thanked her for the food.
After consuming the remaining pizza, I took out the little
cylindrical plastic container in my pocket and washed down
three tablets with a glass of water. I haven't forgotten my
lack of sleep last night; I was using a lot of effort just
to stay awake. But with the medicine I had taken, I was sure
that I wouldn't need to stay awake anymore. I went to my
room and slept.
*finals*, Hilde decided to take a short break. She went to
the kitchen to drink. A small plastic container on the counter
caught her attention.
out of curiosity ("Maybe they're steroids or some other body-
enhancing drug."), she took a closer look. Without touching
the container itself, she took note of the name on the container.
the internet for any info about the drug. A few minutes later,
the following info was displayed on her monitor:
tension, psychoses & organic disorders eg.
post-op pain, trauma, night before operation.
discovering the drug, she was already afraid that there was
something wrong with Duo. Now it was clear to her that his
brush with Wing Zero has caused a greater damage to his system
than she'd imagined.
faith. She remembered that he lied to her when she asked him
about his state.
all he made me lose my position in the OZ and dragged me into
his mess."
of my former comrades, he's really a nice person underneath," She
tried to disperse any amount of suspicions she has for him.
working for the OZ."
about the OZ (and a sucker for cute guys), to help him in
his war. And when this war's over, he'd leave me..."
all that hours studying Physics has turned her paranoid.
And remembering Physics, she also realized that she still
doesn't know how to calculate for the gravitational acceleration
of an object on the surface of Jupiter so she went back
to the living room to continue with her studies.
later to see if he's sleeping well.
Original story concepts: Team Gray Warlock
has split up because of the summer vacation and college ("Duo"
will go to UP while I, "Kamui", will go to DLSU). Luckily, "Duo"
(now "KA/GAMI") has shown interest in continuing this fic and
here is the second chapter.
out there, the real title of this fic is not "Shinji" but
"maniwala".
Cherish the weak "Sexbomb" type of comedy now. In the later
chapters, you'll be saying "Wha?!?".
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