From Far Away
Part 6
A braided boy looked at the night sky and then turned to his
companion, asking something in his companion's language. "Heero,
what's that?"
Heero looked up from where he sat in front of the bonfire. Duo was
standing beside him and pointing at the shiny objects that was hanging
in the night sky. It's been a month since Heero found Duo and they
still traveled together. At this moment, they were in the middle of an
unknown forest that would lead them to another town.
The short haired boy followed the hand and gazed up at the sky.
"Hoshi." *star*
"Hoshi? It's a cool name. How about that one?" Duo pointed at the big round object in the sky.
"Tsuki." *moon*
"Tsuki.......hoshi...." Duo looked at the sky, oblivious to Heero, who was staring at him.
//He learns fast.....That baka ....It's only one month and he can
speak almost fluently now....well, it's not a surprise, considering
how much he loves to talk.........//
Duo plopped down beside him. "Ne, Heero. You still haven't told me
what 'omae o kisu' means."
"Omae o korosu." //I will never tell him that one.//
"Not 'korosu' but 'kisu'. I know they are different now. 'Omae o
korosu' means you want to kill me ne? You got a strange sense of humor
to ask me shut up by threating to kill me. But that's okay. You never
carry out your threats anyway. But what does 'Omae o kisu' mean ?"
Duo looked at Heero who quickly turned his head away. "Mou! Look at
me! You always dismiss me when I ask you this question." Duo put both
of his hands on the either sides of Heero's head and turned it to face
him.
"Omae o korosu!" Heero glared at the braided boy. Normally, his glare
would have made the bravest of men flinch, but the boy in front of him
seem to be unfazed, like it has no effect on him. He tried to shove
the hands away but Duo held his head in a death grip.
"Okay, I will shut up but only after you give me the answer." Duo
leaned closer, so close that their foreheads almost touched. "What
does 'omae o kisu' mean, Heero?"
Heero tried to pull away but Duo wouldn't let him go. //This baka can
be so stubborn sometimes.//
"Let me go." Heero growled and tried to break away, which was a
mistake, or a case of bad luck, he backed away too strongly. Heero
fell backwards pulling Duo along, who held his head insistently.
Startled, Duo lost his balance and stumbled onto Heero.
Heero's eyes widened when he felt something soft and warm touch his
lips. All he could see were the widening violet eyes, which were only
some centimeters before his eyes.
"Go...Gomen." Duo quickly pulled away. //I kissed him!! He will really
kill me this time. Damn, but his lips are so soft..uh..oh...stop
thinking like that.// "Look, I am really sorry. In fact, I'm not the
only one to be blamed. You pulled me too hard, causing me to lose my
balance. This wouldn't have happened if you would just tell me what
'omae o kisu' means!"
//You just did it, baka.....// Heero stared at the braided boy who
kept on talking. He actually didn't mind the kiss. Duo's lips were
warm, eliciting feelings inside his body that he rarely felt. Peace,
safe, and being cared for. //No wonder people like to be kissed.//
Heero didn't have memories of being kissed by anyone, not even his
mother or father, whether it is on the cheek or on the lips. They were
too scared to be near him. Let alone a kiss, they wouldn't even touch
him if it wasn't necessary.
"Helppppp!!!" A shout interrupted Heero's thoughts and Duo's speaking.
They stared at each other and stood up. Heero unsheathed his sword and
Duo took his long stick out. Heero had given him the stick once Duo
told him that he knew how to fight. Some years of living on the street
had taught Duo that. They quickly ran into the voice's direction.
Once they passed a big tree, they could see the shouter. Duo gasped
when he saw a pack of giant spiders surrounding a man and a woman.
//The spiders are as tall as my waist! And not to mention how big they
were....I think I really appreciate living on L2 now...// The woman
screamed again, asking for help, while the man swung his stick at the
spiders. Heero and Duo didn't waste any time. They quickly got into
the battle with the giant spiders. Heero killed the spiders fast and
efficiently while Duo made his way to the couple.
"Are you okay?" Duo kicked the last spider that was in his way and guarded the couple while Heero finished off the other spiders.
"We are fine," said the man, while helping Duo attack the spiders.
Although Duo did his best to guard the couple, the spiders were too
much for him. Heero glanced at the braided boy and saw him beginning
to get tired. "We have to find shelter, do you know where one is?"
"Our house is at the edge of the forest. If we can make it there, we
will be safe." The man answered.
Heero nodded and turned to Duo. "Duo, you take the woman to her house,
while he and I stop these spiders."
Duo nodded and pulled the woman away, leaving Heero and the man to
deal with the spiders. Some minutes passed and the man began to tire
out. The spiders they had killed kept coming back to life.
//This will never end if we fight like this....// Heero turned to the
man. "You are tired. Go to your house, I will stop the spiders."
"I can't leave you alone with these monsters." The man was surprised.
He as a man couldn't fight the spiders alone, now a boy wanted to be
left alone with these monsters.
"Yes, you can. Just give me the directions to your house, I will join
you there." Heero glared at the man. His glare proved still to be
deadly for the man quickly told the directions and ran.
After making sure the man was out of the sight, Heero turned his
attention to the spiders, which slowly encircled him. "Omae o korosu!"
He growled and used his Power to attack the spiders. The spiders
quickly turned into ashes once Heero's Fireballs hit them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Duo and the woman arrived at the house without conflict. They entered
the house and quickly shut the door.
"Pheww, we are safe now." Duo panted and leant against the door.
The woman sat on the chair next to a dining table and looked relieved.
"Thank you for your help. I don't think we would've made it if you two
didn't come along."
"You are welcome." Duo smiled. "I'm Duo Maxwell, nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Duo, such a lovely name. My name is Dana, nice to meet you too." Dana smiled back.
Suddenly the door was being knocked. "Dana, it's me. Open the door."
"That's my husband!" Dana quickly stood up while Duo opened the door.
The man quickly entered and hugged Dana while Duo shut the door.
"Welcome home, Pargan darling." Dana kissed her husband on the cheek.
//Darling? What's that? Heero never told me about that word. Well, it
seems to be a part of the sentence to welcome someone.// Duo looked at
the pair and realized Heero was missing. "Where's Heero?"
Pargan released his wife and turned to Duo. "You mean that young
warrior? He asked me to leave while he covered my back. At first, I
didn't want to leave him alone, but his glare is scary and
unconsciously I ran from it."
"Typical Heero." Duo grinned, remembering the first time he saw Heero's death glare. Now, he knew there was kindness hidden behind it.
"Your friend is suicidal, you know. I don't think he will survive, we have to go back to help him." Pargan suggested.
Duo shook his head. "It's okay, he will make it. I'm sure of it,"
After traveling with Heero for a month, Duo realized that most of the
people in this world are the same as him. They aren't as strong as
Heero and they also can't use magic like Heero does, so Duo assumed
only certain people can use magic in this world.
"Are you sure?" Pargan hesitated. To tell the truth, he didn't want to confront the giant spiders again.
"Yeah. He will be okay." Duo sat down on the chair. //If you act like
him, you will surely die. But if it is Heero, I'm sure everything will
be okay.//
There was another knock on the door. "Duo?"
"Heero!" Duo jumped up and opened the door to let Heero in. He noticed Heero had something on his back. "What do you bring?"
"I fetched our bags after I finished with the spiders." Heero walked
in and set the bags at the corner. Pargan was surprised when he
realized how fast the young warrior in front of him doing all the
works. Heero had managed to join them in less than five minutes. He
needed only five minutes to kill the spiders and take their bags?
Pargan had to admit that the warrior in front of him was really
powerful and had the ability to run very fast.
//Time to practice the new vocabulary.// Duo approached Heero.
"Uhm...."
Heero turned and looked at Duo. "Nani?" //What does he want now? He is
rarely at a loss of words. Okay, make it 'never' than 'rarely'//
"Welcome back, darling." Duo smiled happily.
As soon as the word was said, Heero's eyes looked like they wanted to
jump out from their sockets and his face turned red. //Where did this
baka hear that word? He called me 'darling' ???// Heero Yuy was
blushing for the first time in his life.
"Darling? Hey, you two are married?" Dana was surprised. "I've
wondered about your relationship since you don't look like brothers or
related in any why."
Before Heero managed to correct the misunderstanding, Pargan spoke
out. "What a young couple. Although you two are from same gender, I
don't mind. I can see why you choose him, he is more beautiful than
most girls." Pargan pointed Duo with his chin.
"Not only him, this young warrior is also beautiful, Pargan darling." Dana winked at her husband.
"Oh yeah, he is beautiful too." Pargan smiled approvingly.
Heero blushed deeper while Duo looked at him with a clueless look on
his face. //What did they say? I didn't understand since they spoke
too fast. But judging from Heero's reaction, I think I have made a
mistake again.// Right at that moment, Heero sent Duo his death glare.
//Eeppp, I really made a big mistake....//
"I think we have to stop teasing them, Dana. Look, his face is as red
as a tomato." Pargan laughed and walked to the dining table. "I can't
thank you enough for saving our lives. Why don't we have dinner
together? It's the least I could do to repay you for your help."
Heero nodded and sat on a chair while Pargan sat at the opposite side.
Dana went to the kitchen to prepare the food while Duo stood behind
Heero, clueless. "Uhm...Heero?"
Heero turned and looked up to the braided boy, ready to send him
another glare. But the confused face he saw made him cancel the
action. //It's not entirely his fault to say the word. I should have
told him some words which are used between couples, but it will make
me have to explain what 'omae o kisu' means.// Heero realized if the
person who was asking Heero was anyone but Duo, Heero would tell the
person without trouble. Deep down, Heero wondered why he was very
disturbed of telling Duo the meaning of the words. Couldn't find the
answer to his own question, Heero sighed and pointed to the seat next
to him. "Sit down."
Duo sat down gratefully. //Thank God, he wasn't too angry.//
"Hey, don't be too cold with your mate. Look, he seems confused at
your attitude." Pargan grinned.
"He is not my mate." Heero growled, his face was red again.
"Don't deny it, I know you are still new and shy. I was like you when
I married Dana years ago." Pargan winked to Dana who walked out from
the kitchen and gave them the food.
//What's this?// Duo held up the thing Dana put on his plate and
studied it. It was like a giant nut and its shell was thick.
Heero noticed Duo's blank look and took the nut from Duo's hand. "You need a special technique to open it. Here, let me do it."
"Look at them, darling. They are so sweet." Dana smiled and sat next to Pargan. "You used to open the nut for me when we were young."
"Stop teasing them, Dana. Look, he is blushing again." Pargan grinned as Heero blushed once more.
//Sixteen years without blushing and now, one word from this baka
makes me blush over and over// Heero glared at Duo who looked back at
him apologetically, holding the opened nut.
//Uh...oh...I'm in deep shit. Better to change the subject// Duo
turned to Pargan. "What were you doing in the forest? It's dangerous
to wander in small groups if those monsters were around."
"I never thought this situation would happen. The giant spiders seemed
to appear everywhere. Normally, they live in the swamp at the other
side of the forest and never disturb us." Pargan sighed. "It will be
difficult for us to gather wood in the forest now."
"This began since Shinigami was told to had appeared in the golden
forest. The creatures seemed to be wilder and more dangerous now."
Dana added.
"Shinigami?" Duo was really curious. He knew he had heard the word on the first day he arrived in this world.
"Shinigami is a person who can control Perfect Soldier, the strongest
beast and the ultimate destructive weapon in this world. The rumor
says that it can destroy one palace within seconds." Dana explained
patiently to Duo, oblivious to Heero who tensed once she said the word
'beast'.
"'It'? So Perfect Soldier is not human?" Duo, Dana, and Pargan didn't notice how white Heero's knuckles were or they would have wondered.
"No one knows what Perfect Soldier really is," Dana shrugged.
"Wow, where is Perfect Soldier now?" Duo was amazed.
Dana shook her head. "No one knows where it is. Only Shinigami can find it and control it."
"Oh, that's why so many people are searching for Shinigami? Who is
this person?" Duo was getting more and more interested. The story
sounded like a fairytale to him.
"We don't know who Shinigami is, but many prophets said that he
appeared in the Golden forest a month ago." Pargan spoke up.
"Golden forest?" Duo remembered the forest where he met Heero and
turned to him, who seemed uninterested with the topic. "Heero, isn't
the Golden forest the place where we ..."
"Duo! Shut up! I am tired of your rambling!" Heero snapped loudly.
Duo was startled. He never saw Heero so angry like this moment.
"Go...gomen." //He is really angry at me. He usually use my braid to
shut me up but now.....I must have made too many mistakes.... I have
kissed him....called him 'darling' ...and made Pargan and Dana tease
him.....oh, I'm so screwed up//
"Hey, don't talk like that...." Pargan tried to help but quickly shut
up when Heero sent him a death glare. For the rest of the night, the
house stayed in silence. Duo never made any sound while Pargan and
Dana chose to stay silent. Heero, being Heero, was silent.
The next morning, Heero and Duo decided to continue their journey.
"Be careful." Pargan walked them to the door.
Heero nodded and turned to Duo. "Let's go."
Duo bowed down to Pargan and Dana then followed Heero.
Pargan and Dana watched them until they were out of sight. "I wonder what made the boy angry." Dana sighed. "Everything was really nice before that."
"That is their problem. Let's hope they will solve it soon." Pargan hugged his wife as they walked in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo walked behind Heero and stared at his back. //Is he still angry?//
//What's wrong with him? Why is he still silent? He usually chatters
along the journey.// Heero felt empty, like something is missing. He
didn't realize that he had become used to hearing Duo's voice along
the way and now he missed the cheerful voice. He stopped and turned to
Duo.
"Na..nani?" Duo was surprised when Heero stopped.
"Duo, about last night...." Heero looked at Duo.
Duo interrupted Heero before he managed to finish the sentence. "It's
my fault, I shouldn't talk about the forest. I must have said
something wrong again, ne?" Duo bowed his head down.
"You didn't say anything wrong."
"Huh?" Duo looked up at Heero.
"Duo." Heero put his hands on Duo's shoulders and stared at him.
"Forget about the forest, about your world. You are only a boy who
comes from an island far away from this country. Understand?"
Duo nodded. "That's why you snapped at me last night? You didn't want
me to tell about my world? I thought you are mad at me for kissing
you and calling you 'darling'. I am so sorry, I...."
Duo gasped in surprise when Heero hugged him tightly. "I am not mad at
you." Heero whispered at Duo's ear. "Last night, you made me happy."
//...for the first time in my life.//
Duo felt Heero hug him tighter and nuzzle his ear. He relaxed and
returned the hug. //Heero....everything you asked me to forget...I
will do it....You asked me to forget my world, I will forget it. I do
it because I trust you with all my life...and my love.//
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Who is that young man?" An old man, wearing an expensive robe,
pointed to a pair of teens who just walked inside the inn while he was
sitting on the second floor of the inn. "The one with short hair."
"I don't know, Sir Romefeller. They are not citizens here." A raven
haired boy beside the man answered him.
"The boy carried a sword. He must be a warrior and he looks quite
strong." Romefeller watched the boy intensely. // And he is beautiful
too. Hmm..his companion is also beautiful..// "Ask both of them to
join me here. Use force if needed."
"Very well, Sir." The boy bowed down and walked to the stairs. His
short short black ponytail contrasted with his white robes. He
approached Duo and Heero who were ordering a room. "Excuse me."
Duo and Heero turned around. "Yeah?" Duo eyed the boy before him. The
black haired boy was at the same age as Heero and he.
"I am Chang Wufei. Nice to meet you." Wufei bowed down.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Duo Maxwell and he is Heero Yuy." Duo
gestured to the stoic boy beside him, who nodded slightly and stared
at Wufei suspiciously.
Wufei spoke in neutral tone, "Sir Romefeller invites you to join him
on the second floor."
Heero raised one of his eyebrows and looked at the second floor where
Romefeller was sitting. He only needed one glance to decide his
answer. "I am not interested. C'mon, let's go Duo. This inn is full,
we have to search for another one." Heero started to walk away, only
to have his shoulder being gripped by Wufei's strong hand.
"I think I have to insist you to join us then, Heero. Sir Romefeller
will not take 'no' as the answer." Wufei spoke coldly.
In a swift motion, Heero grabbed Wufei's hand and twisted it behind
the boy's back then he pushed the boy so hard that Wufei fell down. "I
have said I am not interested. I don't like being forced." Heero
glared at the man on the second floor.
Heero pulled Duo out from the inn while Romefeller shouted and ordered
another person to catch Heero. "I will distract them. Meet me at the
east gate of this town later."
Duo nodded and ran away. He was used to do this when he was still in
his world, not always for the good things, of course. He often did
this pattern, stealing and getting away while someone else distracted
their pursuers.
Heero waited for some seconds and then ran to another direction,
followed by Romefeller's men. He jumped onto the roof easily, making
the men stare in surprise. They tried to climb the wall in order to
get onto the roof. Two of them managed to get onto the roof but in one
long leap, crossing the road, Heero left them and landed on another
roof far away from them.
//Now I have to get back to Duo.// But then Heero sensed a presence
near him and turned around. There a few feet from him, an old man
stood in warrior robes.
"You are a great warrior. Too bad, Sir Romefeller wanted you to be
captured. This is the last chance, please join Sir Romefeller
willingly." said the man.
"I am not interested. Don't follow me again." Heero growled and prepared to jump onto another roof. Suddenly he felt the wind blow and surround him, carrying a strange smell. //What...?//
Heero felt his body weaken and the sight before him became a blur. //Kuso, he drugged me!// Heero shut his nose with his hand.
"It's too late. The drug has gotten into your veins. I am Kaze, Master of Wind. I can control the wind and let it blow this drug to you." Kaze smiled smugly.
Heero felt his legs gave away. //I lost!// He fell down from the roof. <<Heero!! Help!>> Duo's voice vaguely entered his mind. //Duo...I'm sorry....//
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
//Heero!! Help!// Duo was surrounded by some men. As promised, he waited for Heero at the east gate. But then some men approached him and teased him, leering the entire the time. He tried to fight them but they were too much. One of them had managed to seize his stick ."Go away!" Duo shouted and kicked the nearest man but another set of hands came and caught his leg. "Let me go!!" Duo struggled wildly while the men were laughing.
Suddenly all the men were knocked out. Duo was surprised by the sudden lack of restraint and fell down.
"Are you okay?" A gentle voice greeted him and a hand was presented in front of him.
Duo took the hand and stood up. He looked at his saviors, a boy with short blond hair and the other one with brown hair, which covered half of his face.
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