Fey Part 5
A.C. 188 - Colony V08744
Gone... everything was gone. A child with empty violet eyes gazed at a dead woman a moment before throwing his head back and howling his grief. "UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
"KEEP RUNNING AND STAY HIDDEN!!!"
Duo, once known as Fey or Kid, stood and numbly walked away from the ruins of the church that had been his home for the past year. He paused by a dead elderly man and knelt down next to him. "I am now Duo Maxwell, Father. I'm sorry I won't be able to be a priest like you wanted me to." He gently took the cross from the man's outstretched hand and fastened it around his neck. "Rest peacefully, Father, for I will avenge you one day." He walked numbly away... not letting the tears fall.
"You are a boy and boys do NOT cry!"
He turned to the one TV store and stared at the picture that popped up. The volume was turned on outside, so he could hear the newscast.
"In other news... assassin Odin Lowe was discovered dead on colony X18999. Odin Lowe was suspected to be the man who shot pacifist Heero Yuy seven years ago. He was accompanied by his son."
Duo blanched as an image of Odin Jr. flashed onto the screen.
"There has been no sign of the boy or his body. It is believed that the boy was incinerated by the explosion that occurred last evening."
Duo felt everything crash around him. "Odin's dead? But... but he CAN'T be! He PROMISED!!!" That's when the tears started to fall, and he didn't really care who saw him cry. "HE PROMISED! HE PROMISED HE'D BE ALIVE! THEY'RE LYING! HE PROMISED!!!!" Even when two guards grabbed him, he kept babbling. He stopped crying on the way to the holding cells, and merely ignored everything and everyone.
"It'll be okay, Kid. You'll be okay. Don't let this change you! You're great just the way you are. Don't cut yerself off!"
Duo focused on his surroundings just as a guard opened his cell. 'Time to run and hide!' He had pushed his way past the guard and had run down the hall before the guard knew what had hit him. He ran to the loading dock and glanced at the various departures.
'Transport heading to a resource satellite. Cargo loading isn't too active. If I'm careful, I could slip aboard.' Duo bit his lip and ran as soon as an opening presented itself. He opened a crate and hopped inside.
*****
A.C. 188 - A colony in the L-3 cluster
"Hey... what the HELL is this?"
Nanashi looked up from his repairs and walked over. "What is it, sir?" He peeked into one of the crates and blinked at what was inside. On top of the spare ammo, a pale child was curled up. Nanashi couldn't tell if the child was a boy or a girl... or even if the child was still alive.
The captain came over. "What's all the fuss... oh my GOD! How did a child get in there?" He reached in and lifted the child out. Whatever else he would do, he would never harm a child... especially one that looked as if it had been hurt. "Nanashi... fetch the medic and bring him to my tent." He placed a hand onto the child's forehead. "Fever... at least you're still alive, eh little one?"
Nanashi did as he was told and followed the medic. Truth be told, he wanted to see if the child was a boy or a girl. The braid was what confused him. The removal of the black clothing answered that question. The child was a boy.
"He's too thin. Nanashi said he was in one of the crates? I'm amazed this child survived the journey." He continued the examination. "A few bruises... the fever is more than likely due to being in a cargo hold for however long it took to get from L-2 to here. Ah! This explains how he survived."
Nanashi frowned at the tiny tattoo on the child's lower back. "How does it explain?"
"He's a street child. Probably ran away from whoever claimed him. He hasn't been molested yet... that I can tell. Perhaps he bolted before his claimer could set him on the corners." He turned the child over and frowned slightly. "Although... I recognize that garb. Orphans from the Maxwell Church wore them. How odd... it's highly possible that this little boy is the sole survivor of that horrible massacre." He covered the little boy up and clucked his tongue. "Poor thing. It looks like he'd rather chance taking care of himself. I don't know. I might be wrong. We'll have to wait until he awakens before we can ask him anything."
"Sir... may I stay with him? He might be less guarded against someone close to his age."
The captain nodded at Nanashi to give the slender boy his permission. "I'll have some light foods sent in here so that the child can eat when he awakens."
*****
Pain and heat... that was the first thing Duo was aware of as his mind slowly awakened. It hurt to breathe. Then a memory flashed and he whimpered. Everyone who'd ever meant anything to him was gone. He was alone. He slowly became aware of something else... something rested against his forehead. It was removed and replaced by something cool. He sighed softly as the coolness soothed his head.
Nanashi blinked. No... he hadn't imagined it. The child was waking up. "Can you open your eyes?" He watched a pair of violet-colored eyes blinked open and focused slightly on him. "Good. Are you hungry? There's food."
"Don' wanna eat." Duo turned onto his side and curled up into a ball. "Why'm I alive? Ev'ryone who ever meant anything ta me is dead."
Nanashi shrugged. "What's your name?"
"It don't matter." Duo sniffled and curled up tighter.
"You have a name and you say it doesn't matter? I have no name. The mercenaries call me Nanashi. That means 'No Name' in... some language or other."
Duo whimpered. "Japanese... it-it's Japanese." He choked on a sob. 'Odin!' Then he cleared his throat. "People... people used to call me Kid." He didn't mention his other title... he doubted he'd ever want to hear someone call him Fey again.
"Kid? It's better than 'No Name' at any rate. Are you sure you're not hungry?" Nanashi's eyebrows shot up as a tiny growl could be heard. "Well, Kid, YOU might not wish to eat, but your stomach does."
Duo blushed as he turned over. "Yeah. I guess so." He smiled a little and sat up.
"Well... I see the little stowaway is awake." The captain nodded. "You still have to finish those repairs, Nanashi. I'll look after...?"
"He's called 'Kid' sir." He stood up and hesitated a moment before reaching forward and clasping Duo's shoulder in understanding. "Nice meeting you, Kid."
Duo nodded and picked at the dried fruit.
"Who sent that in? Your system will reject it not long after you swallow. I'll have some soup brought in for you." The captain gently removed the tray from the child and requested that a bowl of weak soup be brought in. "Now, then. Kid... was it? The medic that went over you had a few questions. That tattoo on your back. He said you were claimed. By whom, and did you run away to avoid being molested?"
Duo sniffled. "I was claimed by my best friend, and I claimed him, about three years ago. He did it to protect me from the gangs who would put me on the corners. His father died in an explosion recently, and everyone thinks he's dead too." He sniffled and couldn't stop himself from crying. "Boys don't cry! Boys DON'T cry!"
"Oh hush, child." The captain pulled the distraught child against him and rubbed the boy's back as the child chanted those three words like a mantra... and it seemed to make him cry even harder. "There there... you'll pull through this. Kids are tougher than a lot of people give them credit for." He playfully rumpled the kid's hair. "Now... once you drink your soup, I want you to lie down and get better. After you're up and about, Nanashi can teach you how to do some minor repairs on our mobile suits. You can stay here as long as you like."
"Okay... but I should warn you that, so far, everything I love has died." Duo looked at the towering adult squarely.
The captain smiled. "That's fine, Kid. Just don't love us."
*****
Two weeks later
"Hey!"
"GYAH!" Nanashi glared at the child who was currently hanging upside down and grinning at him quizzically. The glare lasted only a minute before he briefly returned Kid's smile. "What?"
"How d'ya get your hair to do that one-bang thing? Me... I gotta keep my hair in a braid or it's all over the place. How do you manage it?" Duo flipped over and landed next to the nameless child.
Nanashi shrugged. "It just falls that way naturally. Why do you keep your hair so long?" He finished tightening the bolt and moved on to the next repair.
Duo paused and frowned. "I guess... because it's the one thing no one has ever taken from me. People, places and ideas... the only thing I have left is my braid." He tilted his head. "Can I help?" He scurried up to the cockpit of the suit and started studying the buttons with keen interest. "What do all these buttons do?"
"Trust me, Kid, you really don't want to know." He gave the boy another one of his rare smiles. "Come on out and I'll teach you what you need to know in order to make repairs. As long as you're here, you gotta earn your keep."
Duo made a face and slid down the suit to where Nanashi was waiting. "Teach me!"
TBC...
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