Heero was in a grassy green field, and the sun beat down heavily on him. Only it felt nice on his skin. The sun warmed him, and gave him a sense of protection. He fell to his back on the soft green grass, a slight smile forming on his lips. Heero watched peacefully as a butterfly flitted through the air. He breathed deeply. So this was what peace felt like, he thought.

Peace. A new emotion for Heero. He liked it very much. Just then a shot rang out, hitting the butterfly and sending it to the ground. Heero looked over in the direction the shot had come from. Under the dark shadows of a dead oak, he just barely made out a figure holding a smoking gun.

"What did you do that for?" Heero asked the sitting figure, who stood up. Heero still couldn't make out whom this person was.

"It had to die." A cold voice said.

"Why?"

"Don't you understand, Heero? You think you want peace, but you couldn't live with it. Look at what your world has become." The sun and the green field melted away, and Heero found himself on an ashen battlefield. Dead men were lying all around him. The charred remains of a mobile suit were a few feet from him. "This is all you know, isn't it, Heero? Death, destruction. It's your world. It's your life." Heero could still smell the smoke in the air. He could smell the blood.

"No," he protested to the figure, whose identity was still unknown. "I just want peace." The figure took a step closer, and Heero found himself looking into his own eyes, glancing at his own firmly set jaw, his own messy hair. "You-you're me?" he asked.

"I am the Perfect Soldier," the figure said. Heero looked away. "Look at you, Heero. You've become soft."

"Soft?" Heero said.

"Yes. You were trained for a reason. You knew your purposes. But you still allowed yourself distractions."

"I'm a human being!" Heero shouted.

"That's what you may think. But you are a monster, Heero Yuy. You cause destruction like this. And monsters don't feel."

"But I do," Heero murmured.

"I know," the Perfect Soldier said. "And I know who caused you to be distracted from your mission. And I will eliminate the problem."

"My mission is to achieve peace!" Heero shouted. "Not eliminate innocent people." The Perfect Soldier laughed.

"Too late, Heero, too late." And Heero saw the charred remains of a building in front of him. A building he remembered too well. Images that had haunted him for so long. The little girl and her puppy.

"You see, Heero? You are a monster. You have spilt the blood of children!"

"That was a long time ago," Heero growled. "And it was unintentional."

"The distraction must be eliminated!" the Perfect Soldier shouted.

"No! You will not kill innocent people!"

"It's your friends," the Perfect Soldier said. "They've made you soft. They've corrupted you."

"You corrupted me," Heero said.

"I am you," the person standing before him said. "You are me. And you will return to being the perfect soldier once these obstacles have been eliminated."

"Heero? Oi, is that you?" a familiar, friendly sounding voice called from a short distance to his left. Duo Maxwell.

"You see, Heero?" the Perfect Soldier said. "You didn't hear him sneak up on you. He's made you soft." Duo walked closer.

"Hey, Heero, what's up?"

"Baka," Heero snorted. "Get away from here!"

"Huh?" Duo asked. "Why?"

"He'll kill you, Duo."

"Who will?"

"The Perfect Soldier," Heero said. Duo looked extremely confused. The braided boy looked around and then rubbed his head.

"All right, Heero whatever you say." But Duo remained standing in that spot.

"My mission," the Perfect Soldier told Heero. "is to destroy all of Heero Yuy's obstacles." He pointed the gun towards Duo.

"Duo, run, get out of here!" Duo's face was blank.

"He can't see me, Heero," the Perfect Soldier said. "All he sees is you pointing a gun at him." Heero looked down to see that the gun was now in his hand, and it was pointed straight at Duo's heart. "Shoot him! Shoot him now!"

"NO! I. WILL. NOT. SHOOT. DUO!" Trying to get his mind under control, Heero turned and aimed the gun at the Perfect Soldier, who didn't even flinch.

"You can't kill me, Heero. I'm your past. And I will be your future."

"I DON'T WANT TO BE THE PERFECT SOLDIER ANYMORE!" Heero screeched. He pulled the trigger. The gun went off. Heero watched as the Perfect Soldier disappeared. The corners of his mouth turning up, Heero sunk weakly to the ground. He felt a strange but familiar warm liquid flowing through his fingers, and realized he was clutching at his chest. His fingers felt the bullet hole there. He grimaced, but then smiled. Duo ran over to him.

"Heero! You shot yourself in the chest, you baka! What are you thinking?" Duo tried to pull Heero to his feet. Heero allowed the boy to lift him up, giving Duo a weak smile. I've rid the world of him the Perfect Soldier were Heero's last thoughts before slipping into the darkness.

It had been so quiet. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in that state of silence but it had been driving him crazy. He longed so desperately to see them again. Quatre's bright innocence. Wufei's commitment to justice. Trowa's mysterious silence. Duo's lopsided grin.

He missed them all. It was a new feeling for Heero, this loneliness. But he didn't like this emotion at all. There was no color here, no light, or sound, or friends. It 's too late now, he thought. I'm no longer a part of their world. But Heero was unsure. He didn't know where he was now, so he couldn't be sure of anything.

So confused. Again, another new emotion for Heero. But if he could still feel emotion, was he really dead? But maybe he wasn't alive after all.

But what was this place? He looked around expectantly. After always listening to Duo talking about being Shinigami, Heero just about expected to see his friend, if Heero was in fact dead.

So confused. His thoughts were starting to repeat themselves now. Heero groaned. Wait! He groaned? But there was no sound here. Was, he thought with a snicker. The silence had been deafening. But the silence was gone. And light was starting to enter. And then a voice. A familiar voice belonging to a familiar person.

"Heero?" the voice called. "Hey, Quatre, I think he's starting to wake up!" Heero felt light stream into his world, and he saw them. Duo was kneeling by his side, resting his chin on the edge of the bed Heero was lying on. Quatre was standing in the doorway with Trowa.

"Wha- What's going on?" Heero asked, waiting for his voice to come back.

"Baka," Duo snorted. "You shot yourself!"

"Hn. So I did." Heero squeezed his eyes closed as pain shot through his chest.

"You shouldn't try to move that much," Quatre said from the doorway. "Just rest." Heero opened his eyes and nodded slightly to the blond haired boy.

"So," Duo said, his voice and his eyes softening considerably. "Care to tell me exactly why you did this?" Heero noticed how Quatre and Trowa silently left the room at this point, shutting the door after them. Heero ignored the pain and struggled to sit up, but Duo pushed him back to the bed, planting a soft kiss on his lips. Heero felt another emotion coming into play. It was a combination of shock, and something else that Heero wasn't ready to admit.

"Quatre said you should rest, all right?" Duo continued. "Why did you shoot yourself, Heero?"

Heero barely heard his question, for his mind was whirling, although all his thoughts seemed to settle on one thing - Duo's soft lips. "Heero?"

"Hmm?" Heero asked.

"Tell me why you did this." Duo's tone was somewhat firm.

"I will, if.."

"If what?" the braided pilot said.

"If you kiss me again." Duo looked shocked.

"I, uh.."

Heero felt an overwhelming sense of joy fill him seeing that priceless expression on Duo's face. He reached up and pulled Duo's face down to his, where their lips met in a deep kiss.

"I had to get rid of him," Heero said.

"Get rid of who?" Duo asked. Heero could tell his friend? was now even more confused.

"The Perfect Soldier." Heero could almost hear the fuses blowing in Duo's mind.

"But you are the Perfect Soldier, aren't you?"

"Not anymore. I'm just Heero Yuy." Duo grinned.

"Ah, so I finally get to meet the real you," he joked. Heero just sighed.

"Duo no baka," he whispered, pulling Duo's braid.

"Itai! What was that for?" Heero smirked.

"Duo?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, sir!" Ten seconds of silence. "Oh, Heero, did you really-?" Duo was cut off by Heero's mouth on his.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"Hey, if I can get a reaction like that out of you, I think I'll just keep on talking!" Duo said, grinning.

"In that case," Heero growled, and pulled Duo back down for another kiss.

Heero locked eyes with Duo for a long moment, and he'd never felt more human than he did looking up into those soft violet eyes.

Another new emotion, he thought. And Heero was sure he liked this one best of all. OWARI So... how was it? Please let me know.