Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami's Challenge ❯ The Challenge Accepted ( Chapter 5 )

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Wufei stared in utter horror at the sword blade that went through his abdomen, while he still held his own sword above his head, ready to strike. Looking up, the swordsman saw Duo standing there with his back turned to him. He couldn't believe that he had made the mistake to underestimate his host.

 

There was a quiet slippery sound when Duo retrieved his katana out of Wufei's body. Just then the swordsman fell hard on his knees and he could feel some blood oozing out of his mouth, grimacing in pain. The pain in his stomach was almost unbearable, but it faded slowly to a strange numbness. So this was it how it felt like, when it was time to die.

 

Wufei's only regret was that he wasn't able to die together with Trowa anymore like they had sworn a long time ago. He coughed up more blood and waited for his final breath.

 

"Oi, you're alright?" it came suddenly from Duo's side.

 

If he had been able to, Wufei would have been laughed at this question. Instead he glared at Duo, who was looking at him with mixture from unbelieving, amusement and concern.

 

"You can stop acting as if you're going to die! It wasn't even a lethal wound, just a scratch! So give it a rest!" Duo said.

 

Wufei snorted. How could the other say something like that? Duo wasn't the one with a lethal wound in his stomach.

 

But then he noticed something really interesting, when he looked at his hands. There wasn't a single spot of blood on it. Checking the part of his body, where the injury should have been, Wufei got another shock. Duo had been right. There wasn't an injury. But how could that be? He had felt the blade when it had gone through his abdomen.

 

"How...?" he asked.

 

Duo just chuckled.

 

"I'll explain later. But you aren't immortal!" he said and pointed his blade at Wufei's neck...

 

"Your head..."

 

...then at Wufei's upper body.

 

"...or your heart can kill you!"

 

Smiling, he put his sword suddenly back into its scabbard and relaxed.

 

"We still have the rest of the night to discuss this. Well, I personally feel like having another drink. Care to join me?" he asked.

 

Wufei, who had really gotten a fright, just nodded dumbly and got up.

 

oOo

 

A few minutes later, both of them were sitting exactly there, where they had been before. Only this time, Wufei was constantly glaring at his host, while fidgeting.

 

Heero had returned with another carafe, this time filled with a clear liquid, and two smaller glasses. As before, he filled the glasses and put one in front of each young man. But instead of leaving, he remained there, where he was.

 

Duo took his glass and took a small sip. Clicking his tongue, he set it down, when he was ready.

 

"Ah, there's nothing better than this. By the way, this delicacy is called vodka and comes from a land called Russia. It's from corn. But be careful! It's very strong."

 

But Wufei ignored his own glass. There was this important question, which was burning in his mind since the end of their first fight.

 

"Why am I not dead?" he growled quietly.

 

"Take it easy! Let's drink something first and then we can discuss this!!!" Duo replied cheerfully.

 

"Are you nuts? Do you really expect me to just sit around and drink?"

 

The braided young man suddenly shot the swordsman a glare that clearly said 'yes, this is exactly what I expect'. This shut Wufei up for a moment and he waited impatiently until Duo was done with his drink. The swordsman himself hadn't touched his until now, because he simply didn't feel like becoming drunk right now.

 

Finally, Duo was ready and eyed his person opposite.

 

"So you really want to know the reason why you are not dead?"

 

"YES! I WANT TO KNOW IT...NOW! DAMN IT!" Wufei almost shouted.

 

Duo chuckled and leaned a little bit forward.

 

"It was what you ate!" he whispered into Wufei's ear.

 

This one looked bewildered at the two young men.

 

"Are you kidding me? How can something I ate be responsible for my current condition? Unless you're suggesting that every food can make someone invincible?" he snapped then.

 

The braided bishounen laughed again.

 

"Oh please......don't be silly! It's not like that or else everyone would be like you. No, no, no...All that matters is the proper way of preparation. See, no two cooks can make the same thing the same way. Just look at Hee-chan. He's a good cook. An excellent one, if I might say." He said, gesturing slightly at the Japanese beside him.

 

Wufei huffed and then also glared at Heero.

 

"Are you a demon, too?" He growled at him.

 

But the brown-haired Asian ignored Wufei's comment and stayed silent, while Duo continued to speak.

 

"You're funny, do you know that? Well...Let us just say that Hee-chan has his special abilities, when it comes to cooking. But I must really admit that he's more devil than I am and I'm really jealous of that. Oh, by the way.........Could you kill him, too?"

 

Wufei felt a twitch coming to his left eye. Looking back and forth between the two, he started anew shooting death glares at the two of them, Duo and Heero, who was also smirking now.

 

"You're both mental!" he growled.

 

Now he really needed a drink. The fighter grabbed his glass and before Duo could warn him, he gulped the whole vodka down at one swallow, an action, which he regretted almost instantly. As soon as he had drunken the schnapps, he began to cough and gasp for air. The liquid burned on his tongue and his throat, so that Wufei had to stick out his tongue to get some fresh air. This action, on the other hand, sent Duo and Heero into several fits of laughter.

 

"Whaf fis?" Wufei lisped, unable to speak more clearly.

 

"I told you this is strong stuff!" Duo replied, while giggling on.

 

That was too much for the poor fighter. He had no idea what kind of cruel game Duo was playing, but it was enough to bring him on the edge of a small nervous breakdown.

 

"What do you want from me? Why are you doing this to me?" he shouted, almost in tears.

 

Duo sighed again. This human was so slow-minded.

 

"How many times do I have to tell you that I want to die? Or do you think it is fun to watch other people grow older, live their lives and finally die, while your own body never grows old? Fighting is my only reason to live. I'd always hoped I'd meet someone stronger someday, but now I'm tired of waiting."

 

"Why don't you cut your stomach open then? Don't ask me to kill you!" Wufei yelled.

 

The longhaired boy raised an eyebrow.

 

"You mean Hara-kiri? Oh please! That's something mortals do from excessive self-respect and stupid pride. And since I am without any fault, so why should I do that? Besides, I'm Shinigami, the God of Death and was born to die in Battle. So I can't be cut down by some backwoods samurai! I will die when I encounter the One."

 

This time it was the swordsman to raise his eyebrows.

 

"Do you know what? Nothing you say makes any sense at all! It's absurd!" he growled.

 

"So it's absurd? Then let me ask you. Do mortals make sense? You kill each other by the thousand, just because some shabby politician started a war for his own profit. Isn't it the reason, why you're her and your friend is dead? Isn't that absurd? Listen, the existence of this whole world is absurd."

 

These words seemed to hit one of Wufei's nerves, because he stayed silent for a moment.

 

"Alright then, why did you choose me and not him?" he finally asked.

 

Duo giggled suddenly and hid his mouth behind his hand.

 

"Well, I chose you, because you were cuter!"

 

The black-haired swordsman's bulged at these words.

 

"W...What?"

 

"You've heard right. Maybe it was an egoistic part of me, who did this. But I always preferred opponents with a certain amount of beauty, combined with talent of course. So consider yourself lucky and take this unique chance. If I were you, I'd make the best of it."

 

Wufei just stared in utter horror at him.

 

"You're crazy! You can't just bring people here and then kill them, just because they aren't beautiful enough. That's nothing but plain murder." He hissed and let himself fall back on the floor.

 

"If you say so...!" Duo replied, serious again.

 

Then there was only a swishing sound and silence after the sound was gone. There was a long moment of silence between the two of them, before Duo spoke again:

 

"So do you think it's just plain murder? But what if I told you that not all the ones I killed were people!"

 

Wufei sighed again.

 

"What do you mean with "they weren't"?" he asked and got up again.

 

But to his great surprise, Duo was gone. Astonished and alarmed at once, he looked around the room, but didn't see anyone except Heero. But then he heard a slurping noise from behind and above. Slowly turning round, he finally spotted the other one. Duo was sitting comfortably on a beam under the roof, his glass and the bottle of vodka in his hand, and drank on. Wufei was so surprised that he immediately jerked back.

 

"You want to know what I mean! Fine, I'll tell you then! Sometimes, demons or goblins look like humans. There are beings in the world that are beyond imagination. They made me realize that I wasn't human, too...That I am Shinigami!" he said.

 

The black-haired swordsman raised an eyebrow.

 

"Demons, goblins, Shinigami. I really don't know what you're talking about. It rather sounds like a bad fairy tale!"

 

"As I told you, the world often isn't what it seems. Many, who look human, aren't so at all. Warriors, who defeat vast numbers of the enemy. Miraculous survivors of diseases or accidents. People say they're lucky, but that's not it. They're human, but then again they're not!"

 

"Ah, I get it! So if you're Shinigami, then maybe I am, too!" Wufei said, followed by that swishing noise again.

 

"Possible!" Duo answered, causing Wufei to jerk back again.

 

It was because Duo was back, lying relaxed on the ground in front of him, and Wufei, again, had been too surprised to notice it. But he caught himself quickly.

 

"You're lying! Neither of us looks anything other than human."

 

"Some birds fly high up in the sky, but some never leave the ground. It's not strange that humans come in different forms. My being here is proof of existence beyond what is known."

 

"I don't see any difference!"

 

"I understand you. I used to think I was human, too. I went looking for battles ever since I was born. And I fought lots of men. But no one beat me. I couldn't help but wondering why I was so strong. In time, I became feared and no one had the guts to face me in a fair fight anymore. That's why I retired to this place and waited for a suited opponent. And here you are.

 

From the moment I took a first look at you, I knew you had the talent and, hopefully, the courage to challenge me for this last battle. But it seems that I was wrong. You can go if you like." Duo said with a serious and almost sad expression on his face.

 

His words seemed to have hit a nerve. The braided young man could almost see Wufei's sudden internal battle. This one had a hard time. Should he go or should he really accept this unique challenge? His internal battle went on for many minutes, before he finally made a decision.

 

Wufei's face became serious and he looked at the young man, who called himself Shinigami and whose face now was only lighted by the moon outside.

 

"You're absolutely right! I shouldn't throw a chance like this away. Besides, I've already died once."

 

His gaze became burning.

 

"I accept your challenge." He said quietly.

 

This time, Duo smiled a real smile.

 

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Yes, he finally accepted the challenge. But how will this battle turn out? We'll see in the next part of "Shinigami's Challenge". Hope you like it! Shall I continue? Let me know:

 

Terrenis@web.de

 

^^ Terrenis-chan