*Oh, she knows… She takes his hand…* Hanake clutched the small hand of her baby. Crying gently, she sang a song to him, while in the other room, her husband packed. *And prays the child will understand* "Tousan has to go away again, sweetie." She crooned to him. His cobalt blue eyes sparkled at her. "He's a soldier, so sometimes he has to go away and fight…" And she broke into another series of sobs. Her husband came into the room, kissed his wife goodbye and kissed his son on the head. He walked to the door, where outside a car waited. Hanake picked the baby up, and carried him to the door to watch her husband drive away. *At the door, they watch the men go by, In the clothes that Daddy wore, Mothers pride* Hanake hugged her son tightly. Every time she would look upon his face, she would see her husband's cobalt eyes that her baby had inherited. *Baby boy, His father's eyes* "He'll be back, precious, he always comes home. The war always takes him away from us." She said softly. *He's a soldier, waiting for a war Time will come; he'll hold a gun, His father's son* When he was two, two men approached Hanake in her apartment building. One saluted her, for he was a soldier. She shut her eyes to block away memories. The other had a metal arm. "We didn't want to come on this day, but it was the only time I could." The man said. "I'm sorry about your husband." "It was a year ago. There's no need to apologize, sir." She choked. "That is why I didn't wish to come on the one-year anniversary. And I didn't want to make anything worse for you, but there is an important matter we must discuss." "Speak." She said grimly. "Your husband was a fine soldier, and that is why I must have his son." He said directly. Hanake's face filled with fury. "What?" She screamed. "Are you mad?" "My name is Dr. J, and I suppose you could call me mad. I am a scientist. Whatever kind of peace we have now will not last, Ma'am. We are in desperate need of new soldiers." "My son will not fight." She spat angrily. "I won't lose my son." "He will be no regular soldier, madam. If I take him now and train him, he may become one of the greatest of all time." "You must be crazy." She laughed. "I promise you, he will not die. I have designed a mobile suit for an expert pilot, and I have to choose one before it is built. I can train him very well, as you would see." "But," Her voice failed on her. "He could be the one who ends it all." Dr. J said. "Allow me to train him at least, madam. And if he is not fit to pilot the Wing, I will return him to you. If he is the soldier I am searching for, there is no chance of his own death." "Another war...?" She asked weakly. "Oh God...I need to think about this..." "Then we give you the week." Dr. J said, and he and his soldier walked away. At the end of the week, Dr. J returned to his lab with her son, promising Hanake to keep her informed of the boy's progress. *And as he grows, He hears the band(1) He takes the step from boy to man* Hanake was aging. Now in her late thirties, she had been long aware that her tiny son was the perfect pilot for a "Gundam". She received a letter from Dr. J, telling her that "Heero" was being sent to earth this day to begin fighting. She began crying fitfully. The last she saw of him was at five, through a two-way mirror before he had begun being brainwashed to clear out memories and feelings. That had caused Hanake a week of tears. After the two month brainwashing test, her son no longer knew her. She could only watch from a distance, and even if he saw her, he would never recognize her. She drove quickly to Dr. J's base, to watch Heero get sent to earth with his Gundam. Every soldier, guard, and technician knew her, and let her pass inside. She entered the control room that overlooked the shipping bay. She could see a shuttle, but no Gundam. One of the soldiers informed her that it was hidden in the shuttle. She saw a teenage boy with a yellow space suit on walk toward the shuttle. She recognized him instantly without his helmet on. "It's him!" She sobbed to herself. He was so grown up! Fifteen! So many years had passed! The only thing keeping them apart was the glass windows of the control room. He turned in her direction, and saluted to the soldiers. Tears streamed down her face. *At the shore, She waves her son goodbye* *Like the man she did before, Mother's pride* She waved to him frantically, wishing him luck under her breath. He looked into her eyes. He didn't know her. She waved a little more. He slowly waved back, though uncertain. No emotion flickered through his face. *Just a boy, His country's eyes* *He's a soldier waiting at the shore, And in her heart, The time has come, To lose a son…* At her own home, she cried for many days. She began watching the news daily, watching the Gundam reports, and blushed shamefully when she felt pride at his good job. She saw that there were other pilots, other Gundams, which she had never heard of. She pitied their parents, knowing full well that they had been trained the same way and were probably the same age as her beloved son.(2) *And all the husbands all the sons, All the lovers gone, they make no difference* *No difference in the end* *Still hear the women say, "Your daddy died a hero,"* *In the name of God amen, Mother's pride* She turned on the TV a few months into the war. A Gundam report. She turned up the volume and listened attentively. "In Siberia earlier this week, one of the 'Gundams' sent from the space colonies self-detonated when Oz demanded that they hand over their Gundams," The broadcaster said. Behind him, a recording the detonation was playing. With dread, Hanake recognized his Gundam, Wing. "NOOO!" She screamed. He had committed suicide! What had Dr. J done to her baby? She began crying, the way she had fourteen years ago when her husbands' Leo was destroyed, and he along with it. *Crazy boy, His lifeless eyes*(3) *He's a soldier now forever more, And he'll hold a gun, Till Kingdom Come…* She received a letter from Dr. J a month later. "Your son was saved by another pilot, Trowa Barton of HeavyArms, and survived. He is alive and well. I wanted to tell you one other thing, when the war ends, and I may not have survived, there are instructions for Heero by another soldier to meet with you." Her tears stopped from that moment on, with the inkling of hope that she would see her son again. ~Owari 1- I didn't have the lyrics, I only had a tape that I had to rewind over and over again and listen carefully. I think I messed up. 2- As if she would have known that the boys were pretty much orphans other than Quatre(not for long). 3- Sorry...morbid moment...I like the look in his eyes after he self-destructs...devoid of any life...its cool. And at midnight...whoaaaaaaaa....