From Far Away
Part 3
They arrived at the inn and Heero found out that the inn was full of
soldiers and mercenaries who had come to get Shinigami.
"I'm sorry, but we only have one room with a single bed left," said
the inn keeper.
"Fine, I'll take that."
"The room is on the second floor, third door to the left." The inn
keeper handed the key over to Heero.
Duo watched as Heero took the key and head up some stairs, he let out
a sigh and followed after Heero. Once Heero opened the door, Duo
noticed there was only one bed in the corner of the room. That
startled Duo a just a little bit. Duo stayed in the doorway,
confused.
Heero took some clothes from his bag, turned, and noticed Duo still
standing outside the room, looking confused. He pulled Duo in the room
and locked the door, while handing Duo the clothes. "Kigaero."
Duo was really confused, even more-so than a few secents ago , Heero
had just asked him to change clothes *again*. He looked at Heero,
trying to get an explanation, but Heero ignored him and he began to
open his own tunic and take of his boots. When Heero began to pull
down his pants, Duo's mind ordered him to turn his back but his body
refused to obey. Duo stared and held his breath as Heero pulled the
pants off. He didn't know whether to be glad or disappointed when he
saw that Heero still had black spandex on, which covered his lower
body from waist to the mid-thigh. But the spandex was like a second
skin as Duo stared at the perfect body before him.
Heero sat on the bed and pulled out a green tanktop from his bag then
put it on. He then looked at Duo who was still standing in the same
position he had been in and staring at him dumbfounded. "Duo..."
Noticing the dangerous tone in Heero's voice, Duo quickly began to
change his clothes. Heero just snorted and lay on the bed, closing his
eyes.
//Now what am I gonna do with him? I was supposed to kill him when I
had the chance.....// Heero sensed Duo approaching him and he opened
his eyes. //But I never ever thought that this beautiful person would
be Shinigami.// Heero stared at the violet eyes that looked so
confused. Duo had changed his clothes to a sleveless robe and loose
pants. His muscled arms were visible, indicating he was quite strong
for a boy at his age.
Heero moved to the left side of the bed and pointed to the opposite
side, gesturing Duo to sleep there. Duo still looked unsure. The bed
was supposed to be occupied by one person not two. If he joined Heero
on the bed, Duo was sure that there would be very little space
separating their bodies. But Heero didn't seem to care.
Duo kept staring at Heero, which made Heero impatient, so he pulled
Duo onto the bed. Panic was shown in those wide violet eyes, as Duo
tried to stand up, but Heero moved his hand over the braided boy,
pushing Duo down on the bed. Duo babbled to hide his nervousness. #Uh,
Heero. I don't think this bed will be enough for both of us, Why don't
we order another room? You don't have enough money to pay for the
room? I do have money but I don't know if they can be used in your
world so ...hmpppphhhhh.# Well, what else's was there that Heero could
use to shut Duo's mouth except for his braid?
"Sleep." Duo heard Heero's words but he still didn't get the meaning
behind them. He looked at Heero and found the short haired boy had
lain back on his side. Heero closed his eyes and not long after that,
Duo heard soft snores.
//Damn, how can he fall asleep so fast. I can't believe this, I have
barely known him for the past few hours and yet I am sharing the same
bed with him. This morning I was still walking on the ground of L2 and
now I am in another world, sleeping with the stranger who had saved me
earlier.// Duo turned his head and stared at the slender back of the
short haired boy. As tiredness began to rule his body, Duo too fell
asleep, unaware that he had moved closer to Heero.
Morning came and Heero opened his eyes at the feeling of something
warm on his chest. He looked down and found the chestnut haired boy
snuggling him. //So innocent......how can he trust me so quickly?
Shinigami, if only you know that I had come to kill you that
time..........// Reluctantly, Heero pushed the source of warmth aside
and stood up. He walked to the only window in the room and looked
down. The soldiers were on their respective horses, ready to leave. A
few mercenaries had started to walk away. //Good, looks like they have
given up on finding Shinigami//. At the same time, Heero felt his body
getting weaker and groaned. //Not now!// He hugged himself and began
to pant.
"Heero?" Heero turned his head to the direction of the voice. Duo
rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly. Heero felt his legs gave out and he
fell down with a loud thump. Duo, surprised, jumped out from the bed
immediately.
#Heero! What happened?# Duo was terrified and surprised. He kneeled
beside Heero and saw the boy shaking his head as if assuring him that
everything was okay. But Heero was definitely not okay. He was panting
and looked very weak. Duo scooped up the panting boy and found that
Heero to be way to light.
"Duo...omae....o...koro..su..." Heero glared. He wanted to struggle
but his body was too weak.
#Whatever, I don't understand the words anyway.# Duo laid the boy on
the bed. #All I know is that you need a doctor right now# He made some
gestures, trying to describe the doctor's figure. #I'll go to look for
him, so stay here. 'kay?#
Of course, Heero didn't understand what Duo had said. The currently
weak boy tried to sit up, but Duo quickly pushed him to lie back on
the bed again as he tried to search his memory to find some words that
Heero might understand. Duo pointed down to the bed and said "Kokoni
iro."
Heero was stunned. Duo had just asked him to stay on the bed. Noticing
Heero's surprise, Duo knew Heero had understood the words. He quickly
went out to find the doctor, leaving Heero, who was still speechless.
Minutes passed and Heero started to wonder where the braided baka have
gone to. He forced himself to sit up, leaning against the headboard.
The simple movement made him pant again. After waiting for another
couple of minutes, Duo came in, bringing two men with him. The first
one Heero recognized as the doctor but the second man was a stranger
to him.
"My, you look so pale." The doctor sat beside him. " No wonder that
boy looked so worried. He pulled at me all along the way and kept
babbling in a strange language.".The doctor took Heero's arm, trying
to check his pulse but Heero pulled his hand back.
"No need to check me. I'm used to this. I get lack of energy for a
about day. It only happens once a year though."
"I have never heard about that kind of sickness," the doctor wondered.
"That's right. So it's useless to check me. All I have to do is wait
for it to wear off."
"So you are weak, huh?" The other man finally spoke. "I heard from the
merchant that you managed to hurt Rashid so I came here to ask you to
eliminate all the thieves. But I find out that you are weak instead."
"Rashid?" Heero looked blankly at the man.
"Rashid is the leader of the thieves , the one you had beaten
yesterday. He and the other thieves called themselves as Manganacs and
often attack this village. I was hoping that you could help us from
this misery but I'm not confident you can do this task!" The man spoke
in loudly, oblivious to Duo who was frowning and staring at him.
"Mayor, he is sick. Don't talk too loud." The doctor warned the man
who had turned out to be the mayor of the illage.
"How much?"
Both the doctor and the mayor looked up at Heero, "huh?"
"How much will you pay me?"
Both of them stared at Heero now. Finally, the doctor spoke up since
the mayor was still staring in disbelief at the pale boy. "5000
credits."
"Ninmu Ryokai."
"WHAT? Are you kidding? You are weak and...."
Duo stepped between Heero and the mayor, raising his hand to gesture
the mayor stop talking. #Stop it! He is sick and your loud voice
doesn't help making him feel better.# He looked a bit angry. Behind
him, Heero stared at the braided boy. He was as surprised as the mayor
but knew that Duo was trying to protect him. //Shinigami tries to
protect me.....how ironic....// He took a breath and began to talk
"Mayor, give me one day to recover then I promise I'll eliminate all
the thieves."
"How will I know that you won't just take the money and run?"
"You can pay me later." The mayor was speechless at once and thus
ended their conversation. As the doctor and mayor went out, Heero
slipped down from the headboard to lay on the bed. He was panting. The
previous conversation had taken most of his energy. Oblivious to Duo
who was looking at him worriedly, Heero closed his eyes as darkness
claimed him.
Duo was very worried. He sat on the floor, next to the bed and
continued to watch the sleeping boy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Outside the town, the departing troop of soldiers confronted a man.
The man had long blond hair and his icy blue eyes promised death to
all who tried to mess with him. The man eyed the injured soldiers and
smirked. "So you are the soldiers I beat yesterday. You guys were
pathetic. But at least, I know Shinigami wasn't with you. He would
never want to be with weak people like you." At his words, an enraged
soldier charged forward, unsheathing his sword. "How dare you mock
us!"
The man just smiled evilly as he raised his hand. His palm faced the
enraged soldier. "Baka." A ball of light emerged from his palm and
attacked the soldier. "Ugh, the head!" The other soldiers gasped as
the enraged soldier's head disappeared with the blast. They turned
their heads as the headless body fell on the ground. They looked at
the blond man and their fear and horror were clearly shown on their
faces.
The blond man stepped over the dead body and resumed his walk as he
smiled smugly. "Is there any other fools who want to mess with me?"
The soldiers quickly stepped aside as the man passed them. Anger mixed
with fear colored their faces. He laughed at their reaction. "I'm
Zechs Marquise. Feel free to attack me if you have prepared to meet
your maker." Unknown to Zechs and the soldiers, the leader of
thieves, the one who Heero had beaten, watched the scene from a higher
place.. "He can be used........" A smile formed on Rashid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mother?" An eight years old boy with messy brown hair searched in
darkness. "Mother, where are you?" A woman appeared in front of him,
but she looked at the boy in fear and hatred. The boy's little hand
reached out to the woman, who flinched and stepped back.
"Don't touch me! And don't ever get near me!"
"Mother?" The boy's face was a mixture of sadness and pain.
"Don't call me mother! You are not my son! Oh what have I done? My
greed had made me agreed to born you in exchange for the wealth I
received." The woman cried hysterically and dissolved into the
darkness before the boy's hand managed to touch her. The boy looked
around and found the villagers surrounding him. They looked at the boy
in disgust and fear.
"Stay away from him." The boy could hear the whispered words between
the villagers as they walked away and disappeared, leaving him alone
in darkness.
"He is not human."
"A cold and heartless devil"
"He is a monster."
"Beast!"
Suddenly, a big black shadow with two large white eyes appeared behind
the boy
Heero's eyes snapped open. His body was full of sweat and he was
panting. The Prussian blue eyes caught sight of the ceiling.
"Dream........" He murmured tiredly. //I can't let the past haunt me
forever// Heero turned his head and let out a small gasp when he saw a
face only an inch away from his. It seemed Duo had fallen asleep while
watching Heero.
The short haired boy was even more surprised when he found his right
hand entwined with Duo's. //What did this baka do? Is he worried about
me?............worry?........Someone is worrying about me?// Heero's
eyes softened and he looked at the slumbering boy sadly. //How
ironic.......I always wished for someone would care for me......but I
never thought it will be Shinigami..........//
Heero turned away but for an unknown reason, he didn't let go of Duo's
hand. He squeezed the hand softly instead and felt the hand tighten.
Heero sighed, feeling so safe and warm. //How long did I fall
asleep?// The young warrior noticed the candle had been lit up,
indicating it was dark outside. The sound of crashing and banging
alarmed him. Heero quickly untangled his hand and grabbed his sword,
which lay next to him, as footsteps approached their room.
The door was forcefully opened as some men broke in. "There he is!
Just like what the boss said." A man swung his sword toward Heero only
to meet a flat surface as Heero evaded the sword, pushing a half
awakened Duo to the corner in the processs. Heero tightened his grip
on the sword and attacked, killing two men in one swing. The others
stopped dead in their tracks as they saw their friends knocked out in
a mere second.
Fear and hesitation colored their faces but it quickly disappeared as
the men saw Heero falling to his knees, panting and using his sword to
prevent his body from collapsing on the floor. "Well, looks like he is
not as strong as boss' description." A man stepped forward, sword in
hand.
"You are the Manganacs who have caused chaos around here recently,
huh?" Heero forced himself to speak as calm as he could. He was well
aware that the energy he had gained by sleeping was quickly draining
away.
"Yeah, we are here to give you a lesson for hurting Rashid, our boss.
Attack!" The men charged forward.
Heero growled. "Try it if you can!" He rolled forward, slashing two
men. Before the others could blink, Heero turned around and killed
another two in the process. However, he ran out of energy and there
were too many men to be killed in a short time.
From the corner of the room, Duo, who had fully awakened, watched as
the thieves surrounded Heero, who was breathing hard and leaning
against the wall for support. "Heero!!" Without thinking, Duo leaped
out and punched one of the thieves, who had been ready to attack
Heero. Years as a street urchin before being taken into an orphanage
had made Duo know how to fight. However this action moved the thieves'
attention to him. One thief ran toward Duo. "Damn kid, I'll kill you
first."
//Duo! No!// Using all the remaining power he had, Heero jumped high
over the thieves and kicked the one, who was attacking Duo. //How can
it be like this.......// Heero gathered Duo with only one hand since
his other hand was holding the sword and ran toward the window. //Why
did I help this baka?// The sound of window breaking was heard as
Heero jumped out. //I'm supposed to be grateful if Shinigami was
killed.//
"He jumped from the second floor. Did he want to kill himself?" One of
the thieves shouted while the others were still surprised at Heero's
action. "C'mon, let's go down. He couldn't escape with his current
condition and I bet this fall made his condition worse.// The other
thief commanded and the thieves quickly went down, using the stairs of
course.
#Heero, are you okay?# Duo was worried. He had landed on the ground
safely, thanks to Heero. But the said boy wasn't okay. He was lying on
the ground, sucking in air abnormaly. Heero looked at Duo, whose eyes
were looking back at him worriedly. //My mission when I went into that
golden forest was to kill him.......// He raised his hand and caressed
the heart shaped face. //He knows nothing about this.......and yet he
has to carry this cursed fate.......//
"Go. Find a place to hide. I can't protect you anymore." Heero
murmured and pushed Duo's shoulder, gesturing him to go.
"Heero.." Duo was really worried. He couldn't understand what Heero
wanted him to do and he could hear the footsteps approaching them.
//The bad men are coming. I have to help him.//
Duo stared at the boy beneath him. Heero was still panting and getting
weaker. "Go Duo, just leave me here." His voice was barely audible and
yet he still tried to push Duo away. //At least, if I die, you will
not be Shinigami...// To his surprise, Heero felt himself being lifted
up. "Duo....?" Heero never thought Duo could carry him. Looked like
the braided boy was not as weak as his appearance.
The braided boy scooped him up. Duo brought Heero into a dark alley,
hiding behind the barrels and boxes as footsteps passed the alley. Duo
sighed in relief when the footsteps faded away and turned his
attention to the boy on his lap. The short haired boy's eyes were
closed and he was trembling. //Damn cold night// Duo cursed and
cuddled Heero, sharing his body's heat. Heero surely felt cold since
he was still clad only in tank top and spandex, while Duo had on his
long sleeves tunic and pants but, then Heero felt warmth enveloping
him.
Heero opened his eyes only to see a slender neck, which was only an
inch from his nose. He could hear Duo's breath and his steady
heartbeat. The braided boy hugged him tightly as if protecting him
from all harm. //So warm and comfortable. Did it feel the same when
being cuddled by Mother?....// Heero snuggled closer to Duo and felt
his energy recover slowly. Duo looked down to the boy in his arms.
//He looks so fragile and vulnerable now.// Unconsciously, his hand
trailed up and caressed Heero's smooth cheek. The said boy looked up
and pinned Duo with his deep blue eyes. "Heero...." Duo felt drawn by
those eyes as he leaned closer to Heero.
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