Mission to the Past

Chapter Seven: Heero’s First Baby-Sitting Job

 

               “Hey, Trowa,” Duo said that night.  “Could you baby-sit tomorrow night for Serena’s little cousin?”

               Trowa shook his head.  “Can’t.  I’ve got a ton of homework.  Sorry.”

               “Okay,” Duo said.  “Wufei, what about you?”

               “Book report,” the Chinese boy said.

               “Too bad,” Duo said.  “I’ve got homework, and Quatre’s got rehearsal, which leaves....”  He headed upstairs to Heero’s room.  The Japanese boy was sitting at his desk, reading.  “Hey, Heero.”

               “What is it?”

               Duo started to ask if he could baby-sit, but decided to change tactics.  “Have you done all your homework for Monday?”

               “Yes.  Why?”

               “Good.  Do you have anything planned for tomorrow night?”

               “No.  Why?”

               “Could you baby-sit for Serena’ little cousin tomorrow?”

               “Excuse me?”

               “Could you baby-sit for Serena’ little cousin tomorrow?”

               “No.”

               “Please?”

               “No.”

               “Why not?”

               “Because I don’t like to baby-sit.  Go away.”

               “Come on.”

               “Do you ever give up?”

               “No.  Now, please?  It could be fun.”

               “Then you do it.”

               “I have homework.”

               “Get someone else to do it.”

               “They’re all busy.”

               “Well, I’m not doing it.”

               “Please?”

               “NO!”

               This conversation continued for quite some time.  Duo refused to give up, and Heero refused to give in.  Around four-thirty

 A. M...

               “Come on, Heero.  Baby-sitting’s fun.”

               “Duo, go to sleep.”

               “Not until you say yes.”

               “Then you’ll never go to sleep.”

               “Please, Heero?”

               “No.”

               “Why not?”

               “Aren’t you going around in circles?”

               “I don’t care.  Just say yes.  Please?”

               “Will it get you to shut up and leave me alone?”

               “Yes, I promise.”

               “Then, fine.”

               “You’ll do it?”

               “Yes.  Now keep your promise and go away before I kill you.”

               “Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.  Thanks, Heero!”  The braided boy ran happily out of the room.

               Good, now I can finally get some sleep, Heero thought.  His sleep-deprived mind didn’t even realize that he’d basically just signed his own death wish.

*                            *                            *

The next day, seven forty-five P. M.

 

               “Good, he’s gone,” Duo said as soon as Heero left the house.  “Trowa, Wufei, you two finished what you had to finish, right?”

               “Yeah,” Wufei said.

               “Same here,” said Trowa.  “But why did you want us to keep it a secret?”

               “Well, you see--” Duo began, but was interrupted by the phone ringing.

               “I’ll get it!” Quatre called.  “Hello?  Oh, hello, Michiru....I’m fine, thank you, and you?...Oh, I see....That’s awful....Yes, I can reschedule....Call me back, okay....Okay....Bye.”  He hung up.

               “What happened?” Trowa asked as Quatre came downstairs.

               “Michiru sprained her wrist, so now she has to reschedule our rehearsal,” Quatre explained.

               “That’s too bad, but at least now you can come with us,” Duo said.

               “Where are you going?” the Arabian wanted to know.

               “Yeah, Duo,” Wufei said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.  “Where are we going?”

               “First, do you have the video camera?” Duo asked him.

               “Yes,” Wufei answered.

               “Trowa, do you have the notepad and pencils?” Duo asked.

               “Yeah,” Trowa said.

               “Great!” said Duo.  “And I’ve got the regular camera, plus all the film we’ll need.  We’re all set.”

               “All set for what?” Wufei demanded impatiently.

               “Well,” Duo said, “we’re just going to...observe Heero while he’s baby-sitting.”

               It took a moment to click in their minds.  Then... “You mean spy on him?” Quatre gasped.

               “Well...” Duo said.  “I prefer to think of it as friendly espionage.”

               “You want to spy on him.”

               “Well...yeah.”

               Quatre sighed.  “Why?”

               “Because I want to watch him baby-sit,” Duo answered.  “I’m in the mood for a good laugh.”

               “Duo, you’re evil,” Wufei marveled.  “I’m in.”

               “Wufei!” Quatre reprimanded.

               “Sounds fun,” Trowa said.

               “I don’t believe you guys!” Quatre cried.

               Duo sighed.  “Quatre, imagine for just a moment Heero baby-sitting a little girl.  In other words, the funniest sight on the planet.  Now, can you honestly say you want to miss that?”

               “Well...no,” Quatre admitted.

               “Great!” said Duo.  “Come on, let’s hurry.  We don’t want to miss a single second of this.”  The four boys ran out after Heero.

*                            *                            *

               I can’t believe I’m doing this, Heero thought, standing on the Tsukino doorstep.  He rang the doorbell.

               Serena opened it, looking slightly frazzled.  “Oh, good, you’re here!  I should be back at around eleven or so, emergency numbers are on the fridge, she can eat whatever you can cook for dinner, her bedtime is ten-thirty, she shouldn’t give you too much trouble, any questions?  No?  Good.  Alright, bye Rini, be good!”  She dashed out the door without another word.

               Heero felt a tug at his shorts.  Looking down, he saw a small, shy-looking girl with pink hair

tied in two elongated buns.  She was staring at him with big red eyes and holding a ball shaped like a cat head.  On her head was a small gray kitten, and a black cat stood at her heels.  “Are you my baby-sitter?” she asked him.

               Heero nodded.  “You must be Rini.”

               She nodded.  “And this is Diana,” she said, motioning to the cat on her head, “and Luna,” she pointed to the other cat, “and

Luna-P,” she finished, holding up the ball.  “What’s your name?”

               “I’m Heero Yuy,” he introduced himself.  “So...what do you want to do?”

               Rini thought hard, then her face lit up.  “Come on!  I’ll show you!” she said, taking his head and leading him upstairs.

               They stopped at a room which Heero presumed must be her room.  The predominant color was pink, and there were rabbits everywhere: on the shelves, on the quilt, on the windowsill, even on the floor.  “You really like rabbits, don’t you?” he commented.

               Rini nodded.  “I love bunnies,” she confessed.  She walked to her closet, pulled out a rabbit-shaped box, and opened it.  “See, this is what I want to play with,” she said, motioning to the contents of the box.

               Heero felt himself go pale.  “Y-you want to play with dolls?”

*                            *                            *

               “Oh, this is too much!” Duo cried jubilantly from their hiding place in the bushes.  “Wufei, are you getting this on tape?”

               “Every second,” Wufei answered.

               “Who ever thought Heero would ever even touch a doll?” Trowa said.

               “Not me, that’s for sure,” Quatre responded.

*                            *                            *

               The fearless warrior searched the land.  Armed with three machine guns, poison darts, and metal and magic shields, not to mention a killer outfit, she was unstoppable.  She located her target: her only enemy.  She smiled viciously.  Now, he would die.  He was armed with a stick and a piece of cardboard.  He didn’t stand a chance.  The warrior aimed carefully, then fired.  The pitiful man was horribly dismembered.  His simpering smile was frozen on his disconnected head.  “Die!” cried the warrior.  “Die, Ken, and feel the wrath of Barbie!”

               Rini looked up from her Ruthless Killer Barbie.  “I win again,” she needlessly informed Heero.

               Heero sighed.  “Well, with a twig and a cardboard shield against machine guns, what do you expect?”

               “Nothing else,” Rini answered.  “Okay, let’s play again!”

               “But that’s the eighth time you’ve killed me!” Heero protested.

               “That’s true,” Rini acknowledged.  “How about a video game?”

               Heero perked up.  At least in a video game, the sides would be equal.  “Alright,” he agreed.  “What video games do you have?”  He expected her to say Pokemon, or some Mario game, or something little kids would like.

               Instead, she said, “I’ve got Mega Machine Three!”

               “Um, okay,” Heero said uncertainly.  The headed downstairs to where the console was hooked up to the TV.

               “Okay,” Rini said, turning on the game.  “The point of this game is, you fight in giant robots and try to destroy each other.”

               Heero smiled.  This should be a snap, he thought.  With his reflexes, training, and experience, he would have a definite advantage.

               However, a half hour later, he still hadn’t won a single game.  “I give up,” he announced, wondering why he couldn’t seem to win.

               “Already?” Rini asked innocently.

               “You’ve beaten me seventeen times!” Heero cried.

               “Okay, we’ll stop,” Rini said.  “I’m hungry.”

               “What do you want?” Heero asked her.  “I think I can make pasta.”

               “Pasta’s good,” Rini said agreeably.  “Alright, I’ll go wash up while you make it, okay?”
               “Yeah,” Heero said.  Rini raced upstairs, Diana and Luna at her heels, and Luna-P in her arms.

*                            *                            *

               “This is pathetic!” crowed Duo.  “Losing in a giant robot battling game?”

               “I guess video games are pretty different from real life,” Quatre reasoned.

               “Obviously,” Trowa smirked.

               Duo noticed an open window in the kitchen.  “Hey, Wufei, pass me the notepad and a pencil.”

               Wufei obliged.  “Here you go.  What are you going to do?”

               “You’ll see,” Duo said mysteriously, writing something on the notepad.  Then he tore the top sheet off, folded it quickly into a paper airplane, and sent it sailing through the window.

               Heero noticed the paper airplane enter through the window and land on the floor.  Checking to make sure the pasta was okay, he abandoned his post by the stove and picked it up.  Upon unfolding it, he recognized Duo’s messy handwriting.  It said:

 

Hey, Heero!  Quatre, Trowa, Wufei and I are enjoying the show.  I’m sure Relena will, too, when we show her the video.  How’s it feel to be beaten by an eight-year-old at a giant robot wars game?  And your performance as Ken deserved an Academy Award!

 

               Heero felt his cheeks go scarlet.  Video?  They’re making a video of this?  Those sadistic jerks, he thought bitterly.  He searched in the kitchen drawers until he found a pen.  Setting the paper on the counter, he wrote under the first message:

Duo, you evil baka.  You have no moral qualms about laughing at my expense, do you?

 

               He refolded the airplane and sent it out the window.  He watched Duo catch it neatly, open it, read it, grin, and shake his head.  No, he didn’t have any moral qualms about laughing at Heero’s expense.  Heero gave Duo a death glare and made a rude gesture with his hand before turning back to the pasta.

*                            *                            *

               “Sammy sure has weird taste,” Rini commented as she washed her hands.

               “Why do you say that, Small Lady?” asked Diana.

               “He was the one who told me I should try those games,” Rini explained.  “I guess they were sort of fun, but I like my games a lot better.”

               “So do I,” Diana agreed.

               Rini dried her hands on a pink towel.  “Come on, Diana and Luna.”  She ran down to the kitchen, followed by the two cats, and Luna-P floating behind her.

               “Heero, is the pasta cooking?” she asked him.

               “Yeah,” he said.

               Rini noticed something was missing.  Then it hit her.  “Hey, Heero, you’re not wearing an apron,” she pointed out.  “Mommy always cooks with an apron.  I’ll get you one.”

               Heero fought the urge to say, “Well, I’m not your mommy.”  Instead, he tried to protest as the pink-haired girl rummaged through a closet.  “Um, that’s okay, really.  I don’t need an apron.”

               “Sure you do,” Rini said.  She emerged from the closet wearing a pink apron with bunnies on it (big surprise).  “Serena’s is probably the only one that’ll fit you, since she’s only a little bit shorter than you,” she told him, holding up one that matched her own.

               Heero’s blood drained away from his face.  Rini seemed to be determined to make him wear it, and so, not wanting to hurt her feelings, he reluctantly put it on.  Glancing out the window, he could see Duo struggling to get in a breath between his slightly hysterical laughs.  Heero returned to the stove, cheeks burning.

               After about fifteen minutes, the pasta was ready.  Rini got two bowls and silverware and let Heero serve the pasta.  She then retrieved two glasses and carefully poured orange juice into them, since that was all they had.

               Heero thankfully took off the apron and sat down to eat.  Dinner, at least, passed without any major humiliation on Heero’s part.  As he talked with her, or, rather, she talked to him, he realized that she was a very smart, sweet kid; little kids just weren’t Heero’s thing, that was all.

               After dinner, Heero asked Rini, “What do you want to do now?”

               Rini thought for a moment before deciding.  “Let’s play Hide-and-Seek!  You’re it!  Face the wall and count to twenty.  Count out loud, so I can hear you.  Come on, Diana!”  She ran off.

               Heero obediently faced the wall and started to count.  “One, two, three, four...”

               Another paper airplane came soaring through the window.  Still counting, Heero stooped down and picked it up.  It said simply:

 

Nice apron.

 

               Heero grabbed the pen he had been using and scrawled:

 

I’m going to kill you, Maxell!

 

               He refolded the airplane and sent it out the window.  Duo caught, opened, and read it.  The he made a mocking face, his eyes open wide, and his hands interlocked and pressed against his heart.  The message was clear: “Oh, I’m so-o-o scared!”

               Heero glared at him.  “...Nineteen, twenty!  Ready or not, here I come!”  Having finished his count, he glared at him one more time before running off to find Rini.

               He decided to check the living room first.  He looked under each table, behind each sofa and chair, behind the TV, and on top of the light.  There was no sign of Rini anywhere.

               Next, he tried upstairs.  He looked around.  An open door led into the master bedroom.  Heero cursed himself for not making certain places off limits, because there was no way he could rightfully enter the parents’ room.  On the other side was a closed door.  A sign hanging on it proclaimed it to be Serena’s room.  Heero shuddered at the mere thought of entering a teenage girl’s room.  The only bedroom he could really enter was Rini’s, so that was where he headed.

               Opening the door, Heero scanned the room for potential hiding places.  Listening carefully for any incriminating giggles, he looked under and behind the bed, in the closet, in her toy chest, and behind the stuffed animals.  He didn’t find Rini.

               Exiting the rabbit-filled room, he noticed a bathroom.  Could she be in there? he wondered.  He decided to find out.  Even after looking in the bathtub and under the sink, he found nothing.

               Back on the hallway, Heero debated with himself on whether he could enter the room that belonged to Serena’s younger brother.  He eventually decided that as long as he didn’t touch anything, it would be okay.  He walked through the door.  After searching in every possible location, he still found no Rini.

               After that defeat, the only remaining possibilities were the parents’ room and Serena’s room.  The parents’ room was obviously out of the question, and Heero decided that entering Serena’s room  would be wrong, somehow.  Sighing, he called out, “Okay, Rini.  You win.  Come on out.”

               “I’m down here!” called Rini from downstairs.

               Heero frowned as he went in the direction of her voice.  But I searched every possible hiding place down there, he thought perplexedly to himself.

               Rini was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs.  “Tee-hee!” she giggled.  “I was in the kitchen all the time!  I ran in after you left!  I win!”

               Heero wanted to kick himself for being so stupid.  Duh.  He had never even thought of searching the kitchen.  “Okay, well, what should we do now?” he said, praying she wouldn’t want to play Hide-and-Seek again.

               “How about Candyland?” she suggested.

               Heero sighed with relief.  Candyland wasn’t his idea of a good time, but at least it wouldn’t be too humiliating.  “Okay,” he agreed.

               “Goody!” she cried.  She grabbed Luna-P, which had been floating behind her just a second ago.

               Heero blinked.  “Wait a second...” he said suspiciously.  “Was that toy just...floating?” he finished incredulously.

               Rini nodded.  “Yup,” she said.  “And that’s not all it can do.  Watch!”  She dribbled Luna-P in a little circle, then threw it in the air, yelling “Luna-P, Kitty Magic!  I want Candyland!”

               POOF!  The cat-shaped toy turned into a box, which fell down into Rini’s hands.  As she opened it, Heero could see that it did indeed contain Candyland.

               “How did it do that?” Heero marveled.

               “It’s a secret,” Rini said, smiling.  Heero suspected she didn’t know.

               Rini sat down and started to set up the game.  Heero joined her.  They started to play.

               After beating him thirteen times in a row and thoroughly convincing him that the game was rigged, Rini got bored.  “Let’s do something else now, ‘kay?” she said.

               Heero sighed.  “Don’t you have to go to bed now?”

               Rini glanced at the clock above the TV.  “Nope,” she said.  “It’s only ten.  I have another half hour.”

               “Shouldn’t you start getting ready for bed?” Heero suggested.  “You know, brushing your teeth and all that?”  Please, please say yes, he begged silently.

               “Okay,” said Rini agreeably.  She ran upstairs, Luna-P floating behind her.

               Heero felt something land in his hair.  Reaching up, he found yet another paper airplane.  This one said:

 

You have an uncanny ability for Hide-and-Seek.  Now, smile for the birdie!

 

               Instinctively, Heero looked up.  FLASH!  A camera went off, capturing his tired face.  He grabbed his pen and wrote on the airplane:

 

You are dead.  Dead, you hear me?  I will kill you.

 

               He sent it flying out the window.  In a short time, it came flying back, bearing the message:

 

Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.  That’s only, what, the eighth time you’ve threatened to kill me?  By the way, was Candyland fun?

 

               Heero narrowed his eyes and began to write his response.  Over the next few minutes, their conversation via paper airplane went like this:

 

No, it wasn’t.  And I mean it about killing you this time.

I’m sure.  Just like you killed Relena, right?

You are beyond dead.  And you deserve it, you cruel, inhumane sadist.

Aw, you’re my buddy too.

#@%! you, Maxwell.

Touchy, touchy!

I hate you.

Hey, your charge is coming back!

 

               After reading this last message, Heero looked up.  Sure enough, the little girl was running down the stairs in her rabbit-covered pajamas toward him.  “Will you read me a story?” she asked.

               “A story?” Heero repeated uncertainly.

               “Yeah,” Rini said.  “Please?  Mommy always reads me a story before going to sleep, unless she’s busy, and when that happens, Daddy does instead.”  All of a sudden, her smile disappeared, and was replaced by a look of sad longing.

               “Where does your mommy live?” Heero inquired, wondering why she lived with her aunt.

               “Mommy lives far away,” Rini said sadly.  “I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

               Heero felt a strange twinge of sadness for this lonely little girl.  How could she be so cheerful all the time, and be so sad inside?  Besides, he knew what it felt like to be a little kid and not to be read to.  “Alright,” he sighed.  “What story do you want me to read to you?”

               The bright smile was back.  “I know just the one!” she exclaimed.  “Come on, you can read it to me in my room!”
               Once in her room, Rini pulled out a big hardcover book.  It looked old, like it had been read many times over.  Heero could see the title: Tales from the Brothers Grimm.  It was a collection of fairy tales.

               Rini crawled into her bed.  She opened to a table of contents, ran her finger down the list until she located the one she wanted, and flipped to the page it was on.  She motioned for Heero to come over.

               He obliged, and sat at the edge of her bed.  She handed him the book.  He glanced at the story: “Sleeping Beauty.”

               “Don’t forget to do the voices, ‘kay?” Rini reminded him.

               “Okay,” Heero agreed.  Putting aside temporarily the fact that his so-called friends were outside videotaping this, he began to read.  “Once upon a time, in a beautiful kingdom, there lived a fair and gentle king and queen....”

               Much to his surprise, he actually enjoyed “doing the voices.”  He had fun making his voice cruel and sinister for the witch, and brave and confident for the prince.  It almost made him feel like a kid, a feeling he had missed out on way too often in his life.

               As he read, he could see the story taking place, only the location was the Sanc Kingdom, the princess was Relena, and the prince was himself.  He put those thoughts aside; after all, he knew he was no prince charming.

               “...And they lived happily ever after.  The end,” he finished, closing the book.

               “You’re a good reader,” Rini said sleepily.  “And a fun baby-sitter.  I had fun tonight, Heero.  G’night.”  She yawned and closed her eyes.

               “Good night, Rini,” Heero said quietly.  He could see her breathing become steady and deep.  Diana was curled up next to her.

               Heero tiptoed out of the room, being careful not to wake her.  He gently closed the door behind him.  As he walked down the stairs, he found himself wondering what it would be like if he and Relena had kids.  Woah, don’t get ahead of yourself, Yuy, he thought.  First see if you can work up the courage to tell her how you feel.  Then worry about the kids.

               “Hello, we’re home,” a woman’s voice called softly as sounds of the front door opening reached Heero’s ears.  He walked to the front door.

               “Hi, are you the baby-sitter?” the same woman asked him.  She had long, wavy, blue hair and deep violet-blue eyes.  Next to her was a tall black-haired man with dark eyes behind his glasses.  Heero assumed they were Serena’s parents.

               “Yes, I am,” Heero answered.

               “Good,” said the woman.  “I’m Ikuko Tsukino, Serena’s mother, and this is Kenji Tsukino, my husband.”  Heero shook hands with both of them.

               “Now, let’s see,” Mr. Tsukino mused, pulling out his wallet.  “Eight dollars an hour for two and a half hours...that comes out to twenty dollars.”  He handed Heero four five dollar bills.

               As Heero was leaving, Mrs. Tsukino thanked him for baby-sitting Rini.  “I  hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

               Heero shook his head.  “No trouble at all.”  He wondered if they could tell he was lying through his teeth.

               The door closed behind him.  He walked to the sidewalk.  “Alright, you can come out now,” he called.

               His friends emerged from the bushes.  Quatre decided to be polite about the whole thing; besides, he felt sorry for poor Heero, so he managed to control himself and merely smiled.  Trowa and Wufei had some compassion for Heero, so they contented themselves with smirks and a few snickers.

               Duo, on the other hand, showed no such restraint.  He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his cheeks.  He could barely stand up.  His laughter was contagious.  After a while, Trowa, Wufei, and even Quatre could no longer contain themselves.  The four laughed at Heero the whole way home.  Whenever they showed signs of stopping, Duo would say, “Ken,” or “Candyland,” or “apron-boy,” and they would start up again.

               Heero figured that if he were watching one of them baby-sit, he would get a good laugh out of it, too, so he decided to let them have their fun, and he wouldn’t kill them.  Well, except maybe Duo.

*                            *                            *

               “Well?” Hadesa spat.  “Have you found a target?”

               The Daimon she was interrogating smiled.  “Yes, I have, your majesty.  A young boy with a strong sense of justice.”

               “Good,” said Hadesa.  “Don’t fail me.”

               “I won’t,” the other promised.

*                            *                            *                            *                            *                            *                            *                              *

Notes: Heero fans, don’t flame me!  In fact, no flames at all!  E-mail!  Hmm, a strong sense of justice...wonder who that could be?  (heheheheh...)

 

FYI: Baka is a Japanese insult.

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, Candyland, or Grimm’s Fairy Tales (though I don’t think anyone owns those).  I guess I do own Mega Machine Three, because as far as I know, it doesn’t exist, so don’t use it!  I am not making any money from this, so don’t sue me!