Memory's Song

by Maria Rocket

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(Author's Notes: Yep, this is a Trowa/Midii fic! Or my attempt at one anyhoo. ^^; This one's fer her way cool authoressness, Midii Une, who's always too sweet to me. ^_^ Yup, this is for ya, Midii! Hehehe! ^_^ All of ya folks need to read her cuuute Trowa/Midii series 'Alone/Together'! ::does dance of cute romance fics:: Wheee!)

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It felt and sounded like an earthquake was going through the area. They were fairly common in that area of South America, and anyone living nearby wouldn't have been surprised at all. But what passed through the forest that day was far more terrible than any natural threat. Machines of war and soldiers marched through the brush, crushing their way through. The rebel mercenaries were the lesser of two evils, but no one welcomed the sight of them.

If there was anyone left to see them.

The convoy suddenly stopped. Before them was a bombed out shell of what was once a small town. War had already been there. The mercenary captain jumped out of a truck and signaled towards the rest of the troop. They would go no further that night.

Soon after the captain, a slender blonde girl climbed out of the truck. She looked very out of place as she wove her way past all the soldiers and headed towards the town. Behind her, a young boy about the same age as the girl also jumped out of the truck. He glanced in the direction the captain had gone to assist in setting up camp, and started to follow. Then his green eyes shifted to the side, noticing the girl disappearing in the distance. With a hint of a frown, he turned and walked after her.

He didn't catch up with her until they had left the troop behind. He found her looking into a burnt and crumbling building. "Midii," he stopped behind her. "You shouldn't wander off. It's dangerous."

"I wanted to see," Midii replied as she slowly stepped inside the building. Her blue eyes darted across the black ashes.

"There's nothing here."

"I know." Midii ran her fingers across the wall and watched as the ashes crumbled to the ground in a fine black powder. She then rubbed off the black on her hands onto her jeans. "That's why I came."

Sticking his hands into his coat pockets, the boy followed her further inside. She stared at the emptyness, and he did as well. They were far from the mercenary camp, and it was quiet. A glint of light caught Midii's eyes for a moment. She turned, almost expecting to find a gun pointed at her. It was only the gold cross that hung at the boy's neck.

Then she saw that the boy was staring at her with those deep emerald eyes. One of them was almost hidden by the hair that fell in his face, but she could see it there looking at her from behind the dark amber strands. She felt a mixture of excitement, fear, and anger rush through her. Why was he looking at her like that? Then she noticed him shift his eyes slightly to look past her. Midii decided he hadn't been looking at her to begin with.

"What are you looking at, Nanashi?" She grumbled.

Without answering, he moved past her and bent down to dig in the ashes. In a moment, he pulled something out that resembled a long pipe. He cleaned it against his coat sleeve, revealing a silver shine. "This. Wonder what it is." He turned it in his hands, looking over the various nobs with a technical eye. "Doesn't look like any weapon I've seen before."

Unable to help herself, Midii started to laugh.

The boy watched her, his lips tightening. He shrugged and walked out past her. He was still examining his find as he went. He was out on the front step when he felt a sharp tug on his sleeve. When she stopped him, Midii reached over and took the object from him.

"It's a flute. Haven't you ever seen a musical instrument before?" She wiped at it some more with her own sleeve. "Listen." Then she lifted it to her lips, and began to play.

It was a soft little tune, and it sounded sad to the boy. Yet it stirred something deep within him. It felt like memory, but he couldn't pull it all the way up from the recesses of his mind. His knees felt weak, and he sat down on the steps of the building.

"Nanashi?" Midii sat beside him. "You look sick."

"I don't get sick."

"Right..." She lifted the flute lightly, and started to play again.

"Where did you learn to play that?"

Shadows drifted into Midii's eyes, and she put the flute down. She could see a sickly old man in her mind's eye. "Someone taught me." She turned to see the boy looking at the flute. She watched him for a moment, then shoved it towards him before he could ask anything further. "Want me to teach you? I bet I could."

Holding the cold metal in his hands, the boy just stared down at it blankly. Then he looked up at Midii from beneath his hair and nodded. He tried holding it the way he had seen Midii handle it, and put it to his lips. The mouthpiece was still warm. He swallowed involuntarily, realizing the warmth was from Midii's lips. This knowledge caused a sensation he didn't recognize, and it made him uneasy. He pushed the emotion down, and tried blowing into the flute like Midii had done.

There was no sound except for the boy's sputtering into the metal. Midii shook her head with a small sigh. "This may be harder than I thought."

In the weeks that followed, Midii tutored the boy in playing the instrument during every free moment. In the beginning, many of the soldiers had very vocal and angry complaints regarding the boy's playing. It was high pitched and squawking, which set Midii's own nerves on edge a great deal of the time. So they started going off into the forest to practice alone.

Midii was patient, however, and the boy was a quick learner. She was surprised at how well he could play in such a short period of time. Sitting in the tall grass, she watched his fingers dance over the valves, piping a surprisingly peaceful tune into the darkness of the night. His eyes were closed. When he started, he had always been careful of his hands. Now that he knew what he was doing, he always kept his eyes closed while playing. It was like he went into his own world.

Wondering what was in that mysterious world, Midii scooted closer to him. Then she wondered why she was getting closer for. The night was warm, and she could hear him perfectly from where she was. While she was at it, she questioned why she was there at all. There was nothing more she could teach him, and she really belonged back at the camp. Then she knew she didn't want to go back to the camp. Back there, it was all business, for both of them. Out in the forest, it was only them and the music.

The boy felt Midii lean against his shoulder, but he didn't stop playing. He didn't acknowledge it in any way, but he didn't shrug her off either. Anyone listening would have heard the music coming from the moonlit shimmering flute mysteriously lift from its previous calm into a joyful trill. The soaring tune continued to play into the night, until both youngsters were fast asleep.

The next morning, Midii would awaken against the boy's chest, with his head slumped over her blonde hair. The silver flute had fallen to the grass, and his arms had somehow made their way around her. Sitting in his embrace, tears came to her eyes. She pulled away from him.

He awoke to find himself alone.

Not long afterwards, the mercenary convoy was moving onward yet again. As they went, they passed by a travelling circus. Midii and the boy watched it from inside a truck. It was a typical circus, with tents and caged animals. But the boy found himself listening. There was a sound in the air that seemed so familiar. A piping and whistling sound. It vaguely reminded him of the sound his flute made. And it reminded him of something else... A memory. But he could never remember it, no matter how hard he tried. He watched the circus and listened, wondering what that gaudy colored striped canvas knew about his soul that he didn't.

"Does it bring back memories?"

The boy turned to find Midii watching him. "No. Why did you ask that?"

"You looked like you were remembering."

"There's nothing to remember." He looked away from her, towards the front of the truck. "I've been a soldier since I was born."

"I guess so..." Midii turned her attention to the device that always hung around her neck. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to look at him anymore.

Later that night, they went out into the forest to play the flute as they always did when they could. They sat down in the grass, and the boy began to play. Midii wasn't looking when suddenly the tune deviated, and there was a high pitched squeal. She looked up in surprise, since she hadn't heard him make such a big mistake in a long time. The boy pulled away from the instrument.

"What was that?" Midii smirked.

"I'm trying something different, and I'm not sure how to play it," he explained.

"Try again."

And he did. And he failed again. But this time Midii had been watching, and had an idea of what he was trying to do. "I can help. Try again."

The boy put the flute up to his lips once again. But as he started to play, Midii slid up close behind him and lightly placed her fingers over his. When it came to the problem, she guided his hands. And the music came out. When she felt he had it under control, she took her hands away. But she didn't move away.

He felt her arms wrap around his waist. His eyes opened half-way, and he had to pause briefly to catch his breath. When her chin rested over his shoulder, his eyes closed again. He played that flute like never before. It was a soft, heartfelt tune, with a piping tone that sounded very much like the music they had heard while passing the circus earlier that day. The music deep within him was finally free, even if he still didn't know its meaning.

Long after he finished and rested the flute in his lap, they sat in silence. Midii could feel the boy breathing hard, probably from his playing. Although it had never left him out of breath before. He was warm, so she pulled her arms closer around him. Inside, she cursed herself for doing so. And for wanting to.

"Thank you, Midii." He said quietly.

"Sure."

There was more silence.

Slowly, the boy's chin dropped to his chest, and he turned his half-opened emerald eyes towards Midii. They locked onto her blue ones, and opened slightly wider. They were so close, she could see his pupils suddenly dilate as they watched her. And what she saw there shocked her so much, that a tiny jolt went through her. The blue reflection of her own eyes.

"It's getting late," Midii muttered, and pulled away. She stood. "We should go back to camp now."

The boy watched her get up, then looked down at the flute in his lap. "Yeah. You go ahead."

Midii stood and gazed down at the boy with a sad longing. Then she turned and walked away.

Listening to the leaves crunch beneath her feet as she left, the boy remained unmoving. For several minutes he continued to sit there in silence, just feeling things. Then at last he lifted the flute to his mouth again, closed his eyes, and released those feelings into his music. As he often did, he found himself remembering Midii's lips on the mouthpiece, and his own lips tightened there. His brows furrowed as a strange pleasure swept over him.

He wished Midii was still sitting beside him. He opened his eyes and put down the flute again. Staring down at it, he realized that when he played that special tune, he now had a solid memory to go along with it. He remembered Midii's touch, her warmth, the sound of her voice, and her blue eyes looking into his... A memory, a good memory, all his own. Their own.

A faint smile found its way onto his lips. No matter what happened, at least he'd always have the song in his heart. A song for him and Midii.