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 village.
"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.
TBC...
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