inside of the girl's heart

ground zero

Ground Zero is a more shoujo take on Gundam Wing, different from the other side mangas like Blind Target or Battlefield of Pacifits. It has two stories, the first about Heero and the others, when Quatre steals Wing ZERO from Heero to figure out just what he was planning on doing next. Then the second story is focused on Relena and her relationship with Heero.

Relena’s story 'IN ROSE' takes place after the Endless Waltz timeline in AC 197. Relena has gone to a colony for the signing of a treaty that will ban the use and development of weapons in the ESUN. While in the spaceport, she meets up with Quatre, Trowa and Duo. They talk for a little, before Duo makes the remark that all of her hard work will finally create peace. But Relena replies, "No, not mine. This is something that everyone worked for." Things she finally understood at the end of EW have given Relena a new point of view on what really had to be done to create peace.

Relena then heads to where the signing will take place, only to hear that the processes is in reverse order and needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, she has been feeling feverish since that morning and while out on the balcony alone where she was giving her presentation, she leans over and falls off.

When she awakens, she's on the ground below and has twisted her ankle badly. As she sits there unable to move, she thinks about Heero and how she'd never hear the end of it if he were to see her now. Soon, the pain of her injury is too much for her to bare and she beings to cry. She feels stupid with herself for crying over something as little as this, but because no one is around to see her, she doesn’t care anymore. At that moment she asks herself, "Since when did I become so all alone?" It seems like the time after EW has taken it's toll on Relena, and has isolated her from the people she cares about. Which is believable, because she is the type of person to put her whole life into something she cares so much about.

She hears something in the brushes and to her shock, it's Heero that jumps out in front of her. She can't believe it's him, but Heero says nothing as he quickly notices her ankle. As he uses first aid on her, he notices she also has a fever, but she hasn't had the time to take anything for it. As they sit there in the garden around the building, Relena notes to herself that having Heero so close to her, it no longer hurts. By using ‘it’ Relena could be talking about both her ankle and her own heart and feelings. He has been able to fill the void of loneliness in her that has built up the last year since their departure.

Then Heero says "In rose..." to her. He explains that ancient Germanic tribles thought of roses as symbols. That if blood-red roses flowered on graves, it meant that the soul had gone on to live again; just like the Earth and colonies have now. He says this while looking around the building, which is surrounded by red rose gardens, noting that this place is perfect for signing a weapon ban treaty. Relena smiles, wondering if Heero telling her this was his way to cheer her up.

She leans up against his back, saying she's glad she isn't alone. "You know, even when nobody is around, all I have to do is remember that Heero is somewhere out there and I feel I can go on." By Relena saying this to him, she’s letting Heero know that she really cares for and still depends on him, just like he does with her. He can still give her strength, even after she has grown up so much in the past three years.

Heero notices she had been crying then, running his finger under her eye. He jokingly says he thought she was stronger than that, which Relena replies angrily that she's only human. She can feel down every once in awhile, so many things have happened to her today she that she deserved to have a good cry, but he came and surprised her and she forgot to finish it. Heero apologies with a very straight face, even if Relena was obviously making a joke. She smiles again, leaning against his legs and telling him, "I'd be glad if you'd show up and see me every so often. That way, I'd still have the strength to go on... you see...?" This could be Relena's own way of telling him she loves him, even without just bluntly saying it. But Heero seems to understand her perfectly after she falls asleep like that, as he picks her up and holds her in his arms, saying only: "As you wish."

The final frame has Relena back in her room, asleep on a couch. The final version of the treaty is complete on the coffee table, with a single rose atop of it. It is probably Heero that narrates the last words of this manga with this: ”In rose, the symbol of happiness. And sub-rosa, Latin for under the roses, means a well-kept secret. And this is my own secret.” This story is manly focused on Relena's need to still have Heero around her once and awhile, and that even though she is the Vice Foreign Minister, she still feels lonely without him in her life. Heero seems to understand her need and how she feels. He just had to hear her tell him face to face that she needed to see him still, to finally make the effort.

BACK INDEX FORWARD Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sunrise and I hold no claim to the artwork used on this website. All content and design used in this domain are not to be copied in any shape or form. This site is part of pretty with a pistol network.