Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami Zutto ❯ Dreaming ( Chapter 4 )

That night, the first night that all five Gundam pilots had been under the same roof in more than seventy years, Duo dreamed of the past. As his room shared a wall with Hisoka, the young empath also picked up on the dream. Hisoka's room backed on to the room Quatre and Trowa were sharing, and the blond also found himself in Duo's head.

 

~ It was a strange, misty and unfocused parody of a safe house. Duo sat on the bed, one towel wrapped loosely around his waist and the other crumpled in a damp heap at his feet. He was brushing his hair and singing softly.

“All I want is a room somewhere…

Far away from th' cold night air….

Oh, wouldn't it be loverly?”

Duo finished with the section he was brushing and moved it over his shoulder, before gathering another chunk of tangles and starting on that.

“Lots of choc'lat for me to eat

Lots of coal makin' lots o' heat

Warm face, warm `ands, warm feet-

Oh, wouldn't it be loverly?”

Once all his hair was shiny and smooth, Duo carefully separated it into three sections and began to braid.

“Oh, so, loverly sittin' abso-bloomin'-lutely still….

I would never stir `till sun, crept, over the windowsill!

Someone's `ead restin' on my knee….

Warm an' tender as `e can be….

Who takes good care o' me

Oh wouldn't it be loverly

Loverly, loverly, loverly, loverly…”

Suddenly the room shattered, and the dreamer and his two voyeurs found themselves in the cockpit of a Gundam. Hisoka didn't know where he was, and all Quatre knew was that it wasn't Wing Zero or Sandrock. This confused him, as he hardly ever dreamed of the Gundams, and given Duo's presence he would guess that it was Deathscythe. He would have assumed that he was picking up on Trowa's dream, but he didn't think that Duo had ever let anyone else pilot his big black Gundam.

Perplexed, Quatre watched as the dream unfolded.

Duo was sitting in the pilot's chair.

“Ok, old buddy. Here we go again. We even appear to have company. How nice of them to join us…”

As the braided teen began to pilot, Quatre leaned over his shoulder and looked at the screens and monitors. Duo appeared to be alone, without backup. `I wonder when this was. Or whose dream this is for that matter. I almost wish I could wake up…”

The battle continued, with Duo emerging victorious, but with a battered Gundam. He called Howard on a secure line, and began his descent to Earth. However, before he had even tapped in the co-ordinates there was a jolt from behind as something attacked Deathscythe. The cockpit was damaged, broken equipment sending sparks everywhere. Something burst into flames.

And the scene shattered like a broken mirror. The innards of Deathscythe were gone, but the flames remained, smoldering over ruined pews and licking around a broken cross. Small bodies lay amongst the wreckage, and Duo, much younger now and wearing strange clothes was sobbing besides a woman with long hair.

“Sister Helen, Sister Helen!”

The lady was lying sprawled in the rubble with obvious broken bones and blood trickling from her mouth and forehead.

“No! Not like Solo, please, not like Solo!”

The scene shifted again, and Sister Helen morphed into a boy with long dirty hair held back by a ragged bandana leaning against the wall of an alleyway.

“Look after them, Kid…” he whispered weakly, before turning his head and coughing. Blood splattered over the grimy bricks.

“SOLO!!!!”

 

Quatre woke with a start. Trowa was curled lazily behind him, one slender hand resting easily on his stomach, the sheets covering them up to their shoulders. The room was dark and slightly eerie - he had become used to their bedroom back on L4 and waking up in an unfamiliar place was now strange. Of course, during the war it was something he had become used to, but the war was over 80 years ago now.

Trowa sighed and shifted in his sleep, drawing Quatre closer. The blond snuggled back, enjoying sharing the warmth. A quick probe around and he was certain that Heero, Wufei and Merian were all ok. Hisoka was agitated… maybe he had tuned into the dream as well, Quatre reasoned. Tsuzuki was also distressed. Quatre closed his eyes. He was groggy and simply couldn't be bothered to figure it out.

It didn't take long for Quatre to sink back into the sticky embrace other of sleep.

 

Hisoka's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, fisting his hands in the blankets. A whispered word turned up the lights, showing him that the room was exactly the same as it had been when he had fallen asleep.

“Tsuzuki…”

He knew that it had been his partner's dream; it had had the `feel' of Tsuzuki running all through it. He hadn't understood it, but he guessed that seeing the other pilots had sparked off memories. He needed to check on him.

Hisoka moved quietly through the dim suite, not as quietly as he would have liked - his loose clothing rubbed and his footsteps made a slight thumping sound - but then he was in his more human form. He had a feeling that Tsuzuki would make no sound unless he meant to no matter what he was wearing.

Tsuzuki was curled up in his bed, his face in a patch of moonlight that stained the sheets silver. There was something glittering on his face… moving closer Hisoka was shocked to find that there were tears on his cheeks.

The young empath reached out to brush them away, and suddenly found his wrist caught in a steel grip.

“Ah! Itai! Tsuzuki, it's me! Hisoka!” he hissed, trying not to wake his partner. Fortunately, Tsuzuki appeared to recognize his voice.

“'Soka…” he muttered, pulling the boy closer.

“Baka. Well, you've obviously had a nightmare, so I'll stay for a bit. Just a bit, hai?” Hisoka muttered, mainly to himself. He sat on the bed next to Tsuzuki, and yelped as the older man pulled him close, hugging him like a teddy bear. “Fine.” He told his sleeping partner as, grimacing, he settled down to sleep again.

Being held by Tsuzuki was oddly comforting, and it didn't take long for Hisoka to drop off again.

He woke alone, still in Tsuzuki's bed. The depression in the sheets beside him was cold, and the shower was running. Still half asleep, he stumbled back into his own room to get ready for the day.

 

*

 

“We should defiantly be visible,” Hisoka pointed out. “How can we draw him out if he is not aware that we are here?”

“He has a point, Tsuzuki.”

“I know that! I just… fine. Fine. So long as one of us goes with him.” (1)

“Of course. That was the agreement,” Quatre pointed out. “I will go. Hisoka, I know that you came here on very short notice. I'm guessing that you forgot to pack some things?” Hisoka nodded. “Ok, we will go shopping then.”

“But-”

“Don't worry, I have many, many personal funds not associated with JuMoCho or my former person.”

“What?”

“Fake accounts created during the war,” Trowa said. “We all have them.”

“If Quatre accessed his own accounts, someone would notice because he's technically dead. There would be some sort of scandal. However, the other accounts are safe to use,” Tsuzuki explained.

“My own accounts all went out in my will anyway. Mostly to relatives, some to charity.”

“I get it now,” Hisoka said. “Shopping sounds good.”

“Good.”

“Quatre, what charities did you leave money to?” Duo asked, trying not to sound too interested.

“Mostly orphanages. There are no more war orphans now - although I helped set up several orphanages while there still were - but the orphanages remain and they always need funding.”

“Ah, I just wondered.”

“Were you in the war, Tsuzuki?” Heero asked.

“Yes, I was. I know that you were the Gundam Pilots too, but I thought there were five of you? Unless one was female, and no one knew.”

Merian laughed. “No, no, I died about three years before the main war started. I don't know much about the fifth pilot myself. Perhaps you can enlighten us, now that we have time?”

“Second.”

“Nan?” Hisoka questioned.

“Duo Maxwell was pilot 02. He was the second. Wufei was 05, the fifth. I was 03, Quatre 04 and Heero 01,” Trowa supplied.

Quatre smiled. “Duo was…. So energetic. Always joking, he had a morbid, cynical sense of humor. He liked loud music with lots of drums and electronic guitar. But he could also be very quiet when he had to. He was our stealth and demolitions expert.”

“He liked to play practical jokes,” Wufei continued, “But he knew how to be serious when he had to be. He could get out of almost any situation, and if the door had a lock he could pick it. His Gundam was the stealthiest and the fastest, probably the best in close combat, even if it couldn't match the firepower of Wing, Heavyarms and Nataku.”

Quatre pouted. “Hmph, everyone beat Sandrock.”

“He was a good Gundam, strategy wise, and the best in the desert,” Heero pointed out.

“But he was pretty crap,” Trowa added.

Quatre stared at his lover in shock for a few seconds, then narrowed his eyes. “SOMEONE is sleeping on the couch tonight!” he announced.

“Uh, ok, thanks for telling us a bit about Duo. Why do you think he isn't a Shinigami too?”

Heero shrugged. “Maybe he isn't dead yet. Or maybe he went straight to hell just like he always said he would.”

“Huh?”

“Duo was raised by Catholics. He carried a lot of their teachings with him, even if he claimed not to believe in it. He was influenced by the church.”

Tsuzuki cleared his throat. “So, Hisoka, you're going shopping with Quatre? Better go now and avoid the rush. Merian, is there a dojo in the building? I'd like to get some practice in.”

“Oh course, Tsuzuki. Follow me. You guys, get some surveillance equipment on Quatre and Hisoka. You never know, Muraki might strike. Contact Tsuzuki and myself immediately if that happens.”

“Ryokai.,”

“Bu xie.” (2)

“Sì.”

Merian rolled her eyes, muttered something that sounded insulting in Mandarin and tugged Tsuzuki out of the room by the sleeve.

Once they had gone, Heero started to dig around in a drawer. “Hisoka, do you have your ears pierced?” he asked.

“Iie.”

“Ok. Take this pendant then. Hide it under your shirt. Quatre, here's a plain gold stud. It's a miniature radio, ok? Both sends and receives. Hisoka, yours is a tracker and a recorder. It will automatically send information to my computer. However, you will not be able to hear anything from us.”

“Wakata.”

“Understood. We will be leaving now, then. Hisoka, do you like coffee?” Quatre asked as they walked out of the room.

“I prefer hot chocolate or tea.”

“There's a starbucks a few streets over, inside the shopping mall. We'll go there first, and figure out what we need to buy. I'm not overly familiar with the city myself, it was quite a few years since I was here last, although I did used to come here regularly when I was alive.”

“Why was that?”

“Oh, this country is quite important politically, there were many meetings and conferences held here. But also, Relena lives here, and we were good friends while we were alive. I cannot let her see me now, of course, although she would expect me to look old, rather than the age I do now.”

“Why do you look this age?”

“We got a sort of choice. See, most Shinigami are those who died fairly young, yes?”

“Hai.”

“But we are different. We all lived out our lives, but decided to become Shinigami to try to atone a bit more for what we did during the wars. However, having 60 or 70 year old men running around wouldn't be very productive. So the Powers That Be decided that if we all picked an age, we could return to looking and feeling like we were that age. We all picked around 20, as you can see.”

“What about Merian?”

“Well, she was about 13 when she died, but she is very, very stubborn, and determined to be a Shinigami. So they made an allowance and allowed her to age for five years. So she looks like she would have when she was 18, despite having been a Shinigami for 80 years.”

“Longer than Tsuzuki,” Hisoka commented as they reached the mall.

“Yes, but Tsuzuki is more powerful. That's why we wanted him to help out.”

“Oh. Makes sense.”

“Besides, you two have had experience with Muraki before. Now, what would you like to drink?”

They chatted some more over their drinks, establishing what had been forgotten and what could be borrowed.

“So you forgot a hairbrush, but you brought your fighting clothes?” Quatre laughed. Hisoka blushed.

“They seemed more important at the time. Tsuzuki just snapped `leaving in 90 minutes, you book the tickets' at me. I didn't exactly have time to dawdle,” he protested.

“Ok, ok,” Quatre allowed, still giggling. “We'll got get you one of those first.”

“Ano…I also need to buy gifts for others in EnMaCho. It's kinda a tradition.”

“In that case I will help you make sure that it is followed.”

“Domo Arigato.”

“You're welcome.”

As they left the coffee shop, they failed to notice the four men in dark clothing who fell silently into step a few paces behind them. As they passed a staff door, the thugs pounced.

Hisoka felt a damp cloth being pressed against his nose and mouth, and then everything swirled into darkness. His last thought was `Tsuzuki will save me again, won't he? He is… my… partner…”

 

anyone notice that he's referring to the Gundam Pilots as `us'?

“Sure” in mandarin, according to some website. I will put mandarin phrases in occasionally, I guess, especially in scenes between Wufei and Merian.