Precious pt.15

Disclaimer: Hullo! I don't own GW!!!! Why must you force me to say this so happily? -Screams- You monsters!!!! -Blink blink- Uh…. fangirl crisis? Heheh.

Author Notes: Hi peeps! This is your one and only authoress over here! This is the…. second to last chapter. -Sigh- It breaks my heart. Don't worry though. There'll be a sequel. The sequel will start about a week or two after the last chapter, so you won't have to wait long! Also, the note about the contest I posted in the last chapter didn't full show up at FF.net. Because of this I will merely tell you to leave you email in your review if you're interested, and I'll try and go from there. Thank you. Anyways, on to the chapter. I hope you like!

Duo ran. Grabbing the cold brick of a building, he hurled himself into an alley, where he used a dumpster to jump onto the roof. From there, he used the moonlight to guide him as he jumped from roof to roof.

~ I got to get away. I need to get away! ~

While lost in the pure panic of the moment, Duo missed the rusted bucket sitting right in his path. With a painful thud, he met with the harsh concrete of the roof.

Slowly, he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. His dangling, gold cross gleamed red as it caught sight of the small puddle of blood before it. Duo's head was bent and his face was shadowed. He stayed in that position, glaring at the gravel before him. His fingers clinched in a compulsive manner.

"Damn you Heero…DAMN YOU!"

~ Where do I go now? I need to get myself together, but it's not safe to stay here. The others could come looking for me any moment. Where? ~

The braided man began to sway on all fours, and he closed his eyes to steady himself.

It was raining. He heard…sniffling? No. He heard crying. Without hesitation, he approached the sound. It wasn't as if he could get any worse than he was. The rain had drenched him. His hair now dripped with water, and his clothes stuck to him like a second skin. The bridge up ahead would at least stop the flow of rain on him.

~ It's just killing to birds with one stone! ~

He chuckled. As he stepped under, he could see a huddled figure sitting on the floor. The figure was definitely a child. The gender, he couldn't tell.

~ What's a kid doing in a scene like this? ~

He nearly smacked himself the second after he thought it.

~ You idiot! It's probably an orphan…but I don't know. The clothes look too nice for them to be poor or anything. ~

Duo approached the child slowly, with one hand outstretched. When he was only two feet away, he came face to face with a gun. He froze.

~ This was not what I was expecting. Now how do I get out of this safely? ~

" Sir, I suggest you go elsewhere if you're looking for a quick thrill. I am not the one to mess with."

Duo's eyes widened.

"Marimeia?"

Even muffled, the light, English accent was still very much recognizable. The girl looked up.

" Duo Maxwell?"

" What are you doing out here on a night like this?"

The girl stiffened.

"It's none of your damn business."

The look he gave her was a mix between amused, serious, and surprised. (Quite a mix ne?) She did not back down though.

~ Who does this fool think he is? ~

"Get out."

"Huh?"

"I said get out. This is my spot, so I demand you to get out."

He laughed.

~ What drug is she on? I don't know who's worse, her…or Une. ~

" What makes you think you could throw me out into this freezing rain? I don't see your name anywhere in here. Not to mention, you're being a stuck up bitch."

Duo dodged just in time as a bullet flew past his shoulder.

" Whoa, whoa! Calm down Mari!"

" YOU JERK! Shut up!! Leave me alone! Why won't anyone leave me alone?!!"

Duo sighed as the girl broke down crying. The gun smacked onto the hard ground as her hand went limp. Once again, he approached her. Kneeling, he took her chin between his fingers and made her look at him.

Twin rivers ran down her cheeks, and her face was flushed. Puffy eyes stared up at him warily. Surprising her and even himself, he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. His voice was hushed, nearly a whisper, when he spoke.

"I don't hate you."

He smiled, got up, and left. Just like that, he disappeared into the cover of relentless rain.

" The bridge!"

Pushing himself up, he was off once again. The difference was that this time he had a destination. As he made his way there, he pushed down his guilt.

~ Aw, it's not like I'm doing anything wrong. Yeah, it's Mari's spot, but it's not like she forbid me from going there…eh. Well, it's not like she'll know anyways. ~

As soon as the bridge came into his view, thunder boomed overhead.

"Just my luck."

Not a moment sooner, a slight drizzle started. Jogging, Duo brought himself closer to the destination. He hurried as the rain began to come down harder. Strangely enough, a sense of De javu came over him as he picked up the sound of crying.

As he stepped under the bridge, the sound got clearer. He squinted in the darkness and caught sight of reddish-brown hair.

" Mari?"

The teen looked up. Her eyes seemed bloodshot, and her uniform was ruffled.

" DUO YOU JERK!!!"

~ Is that the only insult in her vocabulary? ~

His thoughts were cut off as she tackled him to the ground.

"Oh Duo, I'm so glad you're alright! You had me so worried! Why didn't you call? Why did you run away? You nearly scared me to death!!"

At this point, she was clutching at his shirt, as if trying to relay her message. He put up his hand in defense.

"Whoa, slow it down there. I didn't mean to scare you. "

~ I gotta leave this place…but Mari would be heartbroken. Hell, she'd hate me. No. She'd hate Une…or herself. I can't do that to them… ~

"Duo?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"The future."

"What about it?"

" Mari…I need to tell you something. You and only you."

Noting the seriousness in his voice, she sat up and looked at him in question.

" I…I have to go. I can't stay here anymore. Don't say anything, just hear me out."

He took a deep breath.

~ I hope she takes this better than I did. ~

" You know I was an orphan on L2. Well, what you don't know is that I was an orphan at the Maxwell orphanage, hence my last name. I was also the only survivor…of many things. There was death, war, and plague. I survived them all…or so I thought."

Duo rested against the wall of the bridge as he told his tale. Marimeia still sat at attention, listening, as he'd asked, to his words.

" It turns out, the L2 plague was laying dormant within me since I was a child, and evolved into something more. That is what's wrong with me Mari. I'm sick. In fact, I'll probably die. My contact is currently working on a cure, but I doubt there even is one."

"NO! There has to be one! You can't die! YOU CAN'T!!!"

Mari broke down at his feet, sobbing. He looked at her helplessly. Then, he hardened his resolve and set his jaw. Grabbing Marimeia by her arms, he dragged her up to his level.

" I AM! Don't you think I wish it were different? I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

His voice broke and became softer.

" But…I am. I accept that. When I leave, you will think of me as dead. Do you understand? I will be dead to you."

"No, Duo."

" I WILL BE DEAD!!!"

He gently pushed her away and got up. With his back turned to her, he could now speak with a steady voice.

" I love you and your mom Mari. Never forget that. I love the pilots as well. Yes, that includes Zechs and co. I'll miss you all, from that Diva Princess and Unibrow to that bickering Chinese couple whom fought along side me. Don't worry. If there is a chance, I'll take it. When I find a cure, I'll return to you. Goodbye Mari."

Before he could leave, Marimeia ran up to him and hugged him fiercely from behind. Duo paused, taking in her love, before speaking.

" Let me go Mari."

She did not.

"PleaseDuo?"

Her tears soaked through to his already wet skin.

"Let me go."

This time, she did, wiping at her eyes. She still could not stop her face from tearing up once more.

" Goodbye Duo."

Unclasping his necklace, he tossed it backwards to Mari, who let out a horrified gasp.

" Sayonara…"

He then walked away…from everything. The rain seemed to comfort him as he left his life behind. It seemed as if he were a ghost haunting the night rather than the former Deathscythe pilot. Slowly, almost trance-like, he made his way to the spaceport. No being could see the tears that even he was unaware of traveling down his cheeks.

~ G is gonna kill me. ~

…………………& hellip;……………………&hel lip;……………………&hellip ;………………………&h ellip;……………………&hell ip;……………………… ………………………&he llip;……………………&helli p;………………………& hellip;………………

Tsuzuki

Whew! That was satisfying. Only one more chapter to go… Oh, and for those at MediaMiner, I've been trying to go there for the past two days! It's like it's overloaded or something. I dunno. I tried to get there as soon as I finished this though. That's about it. Oh, and I just wanna say that the GW songs are so kawaii!!! I especially Duo and Une's. They can sing…not to mention Trowa and Treize. You have to check them out! That, and I just got into J-rock and J-pop, so I'm going through a rabid fangirl phase in which I must download all this stuff. Dir en Grey, BoA, Do as Infinity, Utada Hikaru, Glay, and X-japan are THE best!! Not to mention Ayumi. As you can see, I'm still hyped up, but enough of that! I'll be seeing you guys in the next chapter. Till then, ja!!!