Sorcerer Stabber Shinigami Part 2
Duo left the town behind, walking through the snow as he clutched the fur cloak tightly. After a while he stopped near a tree and sat down against the trunk, in the snow. Leaning his head back he let the sun dance across his face as the flakes stopped falling from the sky. He sat there silently, just holding his amulet in his hand and thinking. He knew he shouldn't have made the offer to the boy, but at the time he couldn't think of a better plan. Well, the kid would be better off without him, he'd just have to find another town to start his search, but he still didn't know where to start. If only he had some clue as to where Heero had gone. And if it weren't so cold and if there wasn't so much snow it would be so much easier. Duo closed his eyes and slammed his fist into the snow, hitting the icy ground beneath.
"Dammit, Heero! Where did you disappear to?!" Duo buried his face in his knees, trying to calm down and thinking rationally. But he couldn't, it had been almost a year since he left the Tower and still he had no clue where Heero was. It was really beginning to pull on his nerves and he didn't know how much longer he could keep his sanity. It was all he could do to keep from breaking down and turning into a miserable old hermit in the mountains.
Beside him he heard soft, tentative footsteps in the snow.
"Heero? He was a friend wasn't he?"
Duo glanced up to see Quatre standing a few feet away, a cloak hanging loosely over his shoulders. The braided boy just sat there quietly, staring up at him. Somehow he managed to nod. Quatre walked over and sat down next to him.
"An old friend," Duo said softly. He didn't know why but he felt like spilling the entire story. He needed to tell someone, he needed to get it out. It could have been anyone sitting next to him, anyone who had asked. But it was too much, he just needed to tell someone, and Quatre just happened to be there and was willing to sit quietly. So Duo let it all out.
~
A ten-year-old Duo awoke the next morning after his first night in the Tower to find a pair of thin yet strong arms wrapped around his body. Immediately he jumped up and pulled out of the embrace, whirling around to face the one who'd been holding him. He found it was a boy, his age, with unruly dark brown hair and bright cobalt blue eyes. The boy sat up and just watched him with a blank look, waiting.
That blank stare, the silent and almost innocent look was infuriating to Duo. He could have sworn he almost saw pity in those eyes, but he was probably imagining it. Still, he couldn't stand to have someone pitying him. He may have lived on the street for most of his life but he had his pride!
"What... just what were you doing? Why did you... sleep with me?" Duo's cheeks grew red at those words. He hadn't meant it to sound like that but he wasn't sure how else to phrase it. His mind just didn't work that quickly in the early morning.
"You were cold," the boy stated simply.
"You..." Duo faltered not able to find the words he was looking for. He found he couldn't actually be angry with the boy, instead he just kept watching his eyes and everything about him. The boy was just a sight, something amazing to look at and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't look away or be angry. It was the boy's eyes, they were the things that seemed to cast a spell over Duo, and he couldn't stop staring at them.
"You would have gotten sick and they would have kicked you out."
Duo raised an eyebrow and began to calm down. "They keep the rooms this cold on purpose?"
The boy nodded. "It is one of many tests. You must survive the cold nights and the daily lessons."
Duo dropped his head and looked at the floor. This boy had just saved him from being tossed back out as an orphan. Duo swallowed, the last of his surprise and anger slipping away. "Thanks, I guess."
The boy simply shrugged. "No need."
"So, you're Heero." Duo said, grinning as he looked down at the boy.
"Yes."
"Nice to meet you." Duo offered his hand down to the boy and helped him to his feet. "I'm Duo, your new roommate."
"I know," a smirk slid across the blank face. "The one born of Shinigami."
"Huh? People keep saying that and I have no idea what it means. I don't even know who my parents are."
"You were born under the moon of Shinigami, the red moon that occurs every five years."
"So, what does that have to do with anything?"
The smirk turned into an amused expression. "You're cursed."
"Are you serious? What, do I turn into some great and horrible creature when the moon shines blue? Do I grow gills when it rains? Cursed? Ha! That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.
Heero shrugged.
There was a knock on the door and both boys looked up. Heero moved his hand and drew a symbol in the air, causing the door to fly open on its own. Milliardo stood in the doorway dressed in dark robes with the symbol of the Tower of Fang hanging around his neck.
"Duo," he said quietly. "You will come with me."
Duo walked over to Milliardo and glanced back. "You coming Heero?"
Heero shook his head.
Milliardo smiled softly. "You will stay with him at night but each student is taught separately. You will see him again tonight." Milliardo directed his light blue eyes toward Heero. "My sister expects you ready for your lesson and at her doors soon."
Heero nodded silently and grabbed his amulet from where he'd left it near the fireplace. Duo watched Heero leave the room silently and head down the hall, then he followed after Milliardo.
And so the years passed in much the same fashion. Duo spent his days learning from Milliardo and his nights curled in Heero's arms near the fireplace. Both boys seemed quite content to just sleep like that every night for the next four years, even after Duo got used to the cold and knew how to ignore it.
Duo would always get back to the room first, finding it quite empty without Heero around. He'd spend the extra time practicing and fooling around with minor castings in the room until Heero got back. Then the two would eat a small dinner, which was brought to their room, and they would head to sleep. Duo would bring over the blankets from the beds and pull it over both of them then he'd curl into Heero's light but protective embrace, falling asleep with a smile on his face as Heero lightly kissed his forehead and the two drifted off into dream land.
It always amazed him that Heero managed to keep warm, even though he was lending his warmth to both himself and Duo. The subject of the gentile kisses before falling asleep never came up and neither seemed to care. Duo took it as a simple sign of affection and Heero never said other wise, it was just something Heero did and Duo didn't question, in fact he found he had trouble sleeping when Heero came in late and didn't give him that small kiss. Or maybe it was just the absence of his arms and embrace that caused him to roll around and shiver restlessly until the boy returned from his late lessons and crawled up next to him.
The years passed and Duo excelled at his lessons. He quickly learned all he could from Milliardo, who turned out to be the Master (teacher) in charge of teaching the students defensive spells and actions. The lessons with Milliardo only took him a year, while he finished with the other Masters in a matter of months. Treize, the main Master of the Tower, was so impressed he took on Duo as a second student, which was something completely unheard of in the history of the Tower. It was always one teacher to one student, never anything else, least not until Duo's thirteenth birthday. So Duo began to learn along side Trowa for his lessons, often time working together with the silent and cunning boy.
Duo learned very little about what they meant when they referred to him as 'the one born of Shinigami'. He knew he was supposed to be cursed but never saw any evidence to that fact. Instead he seemed to live a charmed life in the Tower, no matter what he did he would never get in trouble for it. The worst they would do was tell him it was wrong and make him apologize, but that was it, most of the time the Masters simply fixed the problem and never brought it up again. He was practically spoiled, always taught and treated like a young prince, even though he was far from perfect. But then again Duo always chalked it up to his performance and didn't complain. After all, he did learn and master things faster then the other students, so maybe that was the reason.
None of the other students seemed to care about his special treatment; in fact there was only one person in the entire Tower who constantly pointed it out. She was Milliardo's sister, and Heero's Master, Relena. She was constantly complaining about Duo's special treatment but refused to teach him. Treize and Milliardo always silenced her complaints and soon she came to hate Duo. Whenever they passed in the hall she would fix him with a glare of death, meanwhile Duo would simply grin happily back at her because he knew she couldn't do a single thing to him.
Duo learned very little about the other students save for Trowa and Heero, who he spent most of his time with. He found that Heero had been raised in the Tower, having been the son of two former masters who had long since died. He didn't have much power in the way of magic but seemed to be able to withstand most attacks, physical and magical. He was incredibly strong for his age and size and most magic didn't seem to have much of an effect on him.
Meanwhile Trowa's power was quiet and subtle. Most of his workings had the tendency to sneak up on their target and surprise them, catching them completely off guard. Both boys worked in perfect contrast to Duo's wild and unpredictable talents.
~
Quatre fidgeted as Duo paused. The violet-eyed sorcerer seemed to drift off into his own world, forgetting Quatre was sitting next to him. Quatre hated to interrupt him, it was obvious that the next part of Duo's tale would be a painful part, but at the same time he also wanted to know. He wanted Duo to finish the story; he wanted to find out what had happened to Heero and why he'd left the school. Tentatively he reached forward and placed a hand on Duo's shoulder, causing the other to jump in surprise as he was jolted back to reality.
"What happened to him?" Quatre asked sheepishly. "To Heero?"
Duo swallowed.
"It was my fault, I messed it up."
"How?"
"In the Tower of Fang there's a locked room full of forbidden and powerful spells and incantations and symbols. I was stupid; I broke into the room and read some of the stuff inside. Anyway I was caught and..." Duo bit his lip and swallowed again. "They blamed Heero for it. They made him take the punishment for me and didn't even tell me about it until it was too late. The last time I saw him he was heading off to meet with Relena for his daily lessons. And he never came back that night. I couldn't sleep."
Duo stood up and hugged himself. "The next morning I found Relena pounding at my door, all angry and ready to rip me apart. She said she saw Heero leaving the tower the night before, wrapped in a simple peasant's cloak and she blamed me for it, saying that my curse caused him to leave. I went and talked to Treize, after Milliardo showed up to calm down his sister and Treize explained all of it. He said Heero had taken the blame for what I did, even though Treize knew I was the one who broke into the room and not Heero. They put the punishment on him and banished him from the Tower, commanding him to never return and to never use magic again.
"People will always take the fall for my actions, is what he said. He said that's what it meant to be cursed with the moon of Shinigami. It means that no matter where I go, no matter what I do, others will always suffer the consequences. And it's all my fault for what they did to Heero! If I had known what would have happened I never would have... never would have..." Duo's knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground, pounding his fists into the snow as he swore.
Quatre stood up and walked over to him, waiting for the anger to wear off.
"I don't care." He spoke softly but his voice was clear, his mind decided.
Duo looked up in surprise. "What?"
"I said I don't care. I don't care if you're cursed or if everyone around you is supposed to die. I still want to learn. You're probably my only chance for ever getting into the Tower of Fang and I want to risk it. I'm not going to hide behind the counter at my father's inn anymore, and if that means packing up my things and helping a wandering sorcerer search for his lost friend then I'll do it. I want to learn from you, cursed or not."
Duo stood up and narrowed his eyes, watching Duo closely. "Do you mean that? About wanting to learn and all?"
Quatre nodded with a smile. "Yep. And I mean the other part too; I want to help you find your friend. I wouldn't dream of making you stay in this city while you taught me, so I'll travel with you and learn while I help you search for Heero."
Duo's jaw dropped and he cracked a grin, the anger and regret for what happened to Heero nearly a year ago finally dropping away. "You know something kid? I like you, you remind me of me."
Quatre giggled and nodded. "On one condition," he said becoming serious. "You stop calling me kid."
"Oh yeah, sorry I kinda forgot that we are the same age. But of course, you know that if I'm gonna start teaching you that means you have to call me Master."
"Why's that?"
"Dunno, some rules from the Tower that helps people learn discipline or something. Heh, it was one of the few rules I actually followed, so you'd have to do the same. Can't have you getting to the Tower and start calling them all by their real names, they'd kick you out in a second."
Quatre nodded. "Ok, makes sense. That works for me, Master."
Duo brushed the snow from his cloak and nodded. "All right then, first thing's first. If you're going to be around me you're going to learn a protection spell. Then, if by chance this curse thing does come up you'll know what to do to protect yourself." Duo turned over toward the trees and smirked. "Hey Hilde, you can come out now!"
Hilde stepped out from behind one of the trees, her eyes wide. Quatre turned and looked at her in surprise.
"How long have you been there?" Quatre asked.
"Since he started telling his story," she admitted guiltily.
"And you knew?" Quatre asked Duo.
Duo nodded. "In any case, you can help us out with that huge sword of yours. Quatre, you know what my amulet looks like, right?"
The boy nodded.
"Good, now close your eyes and draw that shape in the air in front of you. Then, in your mind, picture a wall around yourself of protective material. Anything really strong will work, just picture it surrounding yourself and protecting you, got it?"
Quatre nodded and did as he was told. Meanwhile Duo walked over to Hilde's side and grabbed the sword from her belt, sliding it out of the sheath before she could protest.
"Hey! That's my father's sword!"
"Relax! I'll return it in just a second. But first... Quatre, just remember one thing, no matter what nothing can break through your barrier, got that?"
"Got it, Master," he responded without opening his eyes. Instead he just stood there, completely relaxed as the wind pulled at his cloak. Taking up the sword Duo charged, raising it high to strike. As he ran in Quatre opened his eyes and they widened in surprise. Raising his arms for protection he pictured the symbol like Duo had told him.
Suddenly a large wall of energy flew up around Quatre, hitting Duo and sending him sailing backward toward Hilde. Duo dropped the sword to the ground and caught himself, landing in a crouch with a smile on his face. Quatre's eyes snapped open and he stared at the two in wonder.
"It worked?" He asked quietly, in awe.
"Course it did," Duo said, standing up and returning the sword to a very shocked Hilde. "Magic is simply visualization and that was a simple little trick. See, in actuality you tapped into my power to raise that shield, that's why I had you picture this symbol. By doing that you'll tap into the power of the closest person wearing this symbol. It'll work great until you figure out how to raise your own power."
"Cool!" Quatre grinned happily and glanced to his friend. "Hilde, you ok?"
Hilde nodded slowly, still trying to take in all she'd seen. "Yeah, I think so. I've never seen people use powers like that before, just a little shaken, that's all."
Duo snickered and rubbed the back of his head. "Just be glad you weren't on the receiving end, your friend there packs quite a punch." He clapped her on the shoulder then walked past, heading back toward the city.
"Wait," Quatre called, racing after him. "Master, where are you going?"
"Back to the inn of course. I don't know about you but I'm hungry and if I don't get food soon I might consider eating one of you two."
Quatre and Hilde paused for second then rushed after him toward the inn. The three walked happily back into town, Duo seeming to have forgotten most of his troubles.
~*~
Trowa materialized into sight at the edge of town and paused before starting down the road. He didn't wear a cloak like most, opting to stand out rather then to fit in for once. Instead he wore a long black shirt that fanned out around his legs, splitting down the front to reveal the black leggings he wore beneath. The amulet of the Tower of Fang hung from around his neck, glinting brightly in the day light. Turning his tracks he headed for the Winner Inn, his mission clear in his head.
He was simply there to speak to an old friend.
Pushing open the doors he found the inn quite lively, more so then it had been earlier. Many tables were full with people talking, most of whom had probably stopped in for a drink and a place to warm up before heading home. Trowa paused just inside the doorway and peered around the room, taking stock of those around him.
Only three people in the inn caught his interest and he took a moment to look at all of them. Duo sat at the bar, sipping a drink as he chatted happily with the blond behind the counter. He seemed to be his normal, happy self, but Trowa knew he was most likely still worried about Heero. If he wasn't he wouldn't have left the Tower like he had a year ago. He knew, from his short time with Duo, that the boy always tried to be cheerful, even if deep inside something was slowly eating him away. That was just the way Duo acted.
The other two which caught the sorcerer's interest were the blond boy behind the desk and the dark haired girl sitting next to Duo, wearing a rather large sword on her belt. Trowa raised an eyebrow as he noticed the old runes carved into the side of the hilt and curving down onto the hidden blade. Very interesting, he thought. He wondered if Duo had realized the markings and their meanings, but then knowing him he certainly did.
Trowa's eyes settled last on the boy behind the corner, watching him closely. He wore a bright smile, much like Duo's, but his was more tender and caring in nature. And his eyes seemed to speak of wonders, clouds and dreams, high hopes for whatever lay ahead no matter how impossible the odds. A very interesting boy indeed. Dismissing the boy from his mind he started toward the bar, no time to worry about anything other than what he'd been assigned to do.
Walking over to a table he sat down just behind Duo and his friends. He noticed the blond boy pause and the smile slip from his face as he saw the amulet around Trowa's neck.
"Who's that?" He asked as Trowa took a seat calmly behind Duo.
Duo turned and dropped his drink in surprise, his eyes narrowing as the glass shattered across the floor. From around the bar room several heads rose but most returned back to their business.
"Trowa," Duo muttered venomously.
Quatre swallowed and set down the cup in his hand, meanwhile Hilde turned to look at the new person.
"Duo," Trowa said with the slightest inclination of his head.
"Your Master send you to fetch me?" Duo asked, his voice taking on a teasing tone, almost as if he were daring the quiet boy to start a scene.
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps we should speak outside, I wouldn't want to raise a scene and hurt anyone here."
At that Quatre's eyes grew wide.
Duo stood up and nodded. "Accepted."
"Master-"
Duo shook his head. "Stay here, Quatre. I'll be back in a few minutes, Trowa and I just have a few things to discuss."
"Indeed." Agreed Trowa as he stood up and followed Duo outside. Neither grabbed a cloak, both just simply walked out into the snow in silence, walking around to the large summer grazing field beyond for horses during the summer.
"I don't' like this," Quatre said quietly, glancing at Hilde.
"Go on after him, but stay out of sight. I'll watch things here."
"Thanks Hilde!"
Quatre raced out the door and Hilde walked around behind the counter. Sighing softly she went about cleaning up the glasses Quatre had been working on, hoping everything was ok outside.
TBC...
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