Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Gift Within ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: siberianknight 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.29.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 259 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.29.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 259 | Status: Completed
Author's Notes: Another chapter down. Enjoy!!
Warnings: Strong Language, Small Out-of-Characterness (particularly on Heero's behalf).
*As before the names are still different, but I've started switching back and forth between them, there is a plot point for this ... so bare with me*
Character Names:
Eiichi -- Heero, Knight -- Duo, Shironeko -- Quatre, Nanashi -- Trowa, Fayte -- Honor (an OC), Jester -- Solo, Lion -- Treize, Hawk -- Zechs, and Rose -- Une
-----
“That stupid fucking bastard! He’s enjoying this! I know he is. That sick piece of shit.” Duo slammed his fist against the wood paneling in Honor’s room as she quietly shut the door behind them. He had been holding in his rage the entire trip up to her room, where they had decided to discuss what had just happened; however, it seemed that Duo was more intent upon yelling and throwing a fit than discussing anything.
“Um, Duo ...”
“What?!” He winced as he realized that he had snapped at his friend. “Sorry. What is it?”
“I think you should -- talk with Heero.” Honor knew that she was trespassing on dangerous territory. The two men had not had the friendliest of partings and now she was daring to mention a reconciliation between them.
“No. You know that won’t work, the man doesn’t remember anything -- and besides, even if he did somehow regain his memories he’d just go back to ignoring and hating me.” Duo plopped down into one of the chairs which flanked the fireplace on the far wall. His heart felt as if someone was trying to squeeze it out of his chest, and he silently cursed Heero for being the cause of the pain.
“Duo, you can’t say that for certain. He did -- no does love you.” Duo raised his weary indigo eyes up and smiled humorlessly.
“If you say so, Miss Optimist. But you weren’t there when he left, you didn’t hear what he said to me ...” Honor moved close to Duo and wrapped her arms around his shoulders trying to give him any comfort she could. She didn’t like seeing him this way, and he had been in a constant state of sadness since Heero had left.
“Please, just give it a try -- see if he can remember something ... anything. Or maybe he may still love you, despite not having Eiichi’s memories.” He sat still for a few moments thinking about the possibilities of being given a second chance with Heero. The same risks applied as they did before, same sex love was strictly forbidden by Lion’s law, but that made the prospect a bit more exciting for him.
“I’ll go and see him -- to make you happy.” Honor smiled brightly as she walked Duo to the door. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Thanks, Duo.” She raised up on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss upon his cheek, and wished him luck one last time.
-----
Heero sat in the middle of the courtyard thinking about a number of different things, but mostly about his role in that world. He seemed to be someone of great importance, but no one had explained exactly how important he was. Then there was Knight, he had been acting very strangely toward him and the fact that he looked somewhat like Tsuzuki was troubling. “Ei-pi.” The soft masculine voice caused an image of a strong male body writhing with passion beneath his touch. Confused, Heero shook his head trying to rid himself of the fantasy. The middle of the courtyard was nowhere to be daydreaming of such things. “Eiichi!” The voice was more insistent and louder this time. Heero slowly turned to find Knight standing behind him, his arms crossed against his chest, and a miffed look upon his face. He found himself staring at the other man, desire slowly starting to form deep within him. It wasn’t that much of a surprise to him that he was attracted to Knight, after all he did look like Tsuzuki, didn’t he? For a moment, Heero had trouble remembering just what Tsuzuki had looked like. As he concentrated, he realized that Tsuzuki’s nose hadn’t been quite so large, nor were his eyes that amazing shade of blue with a touch of indigo. “Ei-pi, are you going to stare at me all day? I have something I need to talk to you about.” Heero mentally shook himself, and grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry ... what was it that you wanted?”
“Let’s take a walk.” Duo glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, he knew that no matter where they went the likelihood of them being completely alone was very slim. As the two walked along the winding garden path, Heero continually stole glances of Knight. It genuinely surprised him that he hadn’t seen the differences between this man and Tsuzuki before.
“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”
Duo stopped and waited for Heero to face him. “Heero,” the sound of his name startled him. He didn’t know that Knight knew his real name, but he stayed silent so that he could hear what the other was about to say. “Do you -- remember anything? About me?”
“Am I supposed to?” Duo smiled to hide the pain, but somehow Heero could tell that his answer had hurt him. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cause you any grief ... I told you before that you kind of look like my friend Tsuzuki.”
“Hmm. Yeah, you said that before. It’s okay if you don’t remember. There were ... things that we said before you left -- that would be better off forgotten.” Duo began to pick absentmindedly at the large bush beside him. He wanted to confess all his feelings to Heero, but since he couldn’t remember the past, it was pointless.
“Is that what’s bothering you? What happened exactly?”
“I’d rather not share all of it ... let’s just say that -- we were lo--”
“Lord Eiichi! Lord Eiichi!” Hawk came running up to the two men, and Duo felt like strangling him. He knew that Lion had been listening in on their conversation and had not wanted the truth revealed to Heero at any cost. “I’m glad I found you. Lion wishes to see you ... immediately.” He grabbed onto Heero’s arm and began to drag him away from Duo. Uncertain as to where he was being taken, Heero pulled away from Hawk and glared at him.
“I’ll stay here until Knight is finished speaking with me.” The sudden change in demeanor only phased Hawk for a second. He smirked as he realized that the true Eiichi was starting to bubble forth, and that maybe allowing a longer conversation between Knight and Eiichi wasn’t such a bad thing. However, that would be against Lion’s orders, so with a deep bow Hawk apologized.
“Lord Eiichi, you’ll be able to speak with Knight after you speak with Lion. It’s his orders, and you know we must all follow his orders.” Heero glared at Hawk, but resigned himself to going with him since it didn’t appear that he would allow him to stay with Knight.
“Why does he want to see me?”
“Because, he hasn’t had the opportunity to meet our dear lord.”
“About that title ... just what am I lord of?” Heero watched Hawk closely, not certain what reaction he was looking for, it seemed to be another one of those odd quirks which he had developed in the past two days.
“All of this ... well the lands surrounding this great castle. Your family was one of wealth and power before the government was handed over to the Children of Oz. So therefor, you are technically the figure head with no power.” Heero’s brow knitted together, this man had just mocked him openly. Even if he was a fake lord, that didn’t give anyone the right to mock him. “Lion is through these doors.”
Heero breathed in deeply for a bolster of support and pushed open the same doors which Honor and Duo had been through earlier that day. He found Lion leaning nonchalantly against the mantel, an unreadable smirk plastered on his flawless face. There was an air of authority about him as well as sophistication, there was no denying that this man was the head of the covenant. “You wished to see me ... Lion?” The name felt bitter upon Heero’s tongue, but he had no idea why.
“Yes, m’lord. Please, have a seat.” With a touch of caution, Heero made his way to a seat near Lion. “Excellent, I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“As well as one could be given the circumstances.”
“Yes, I suppose that it was a bit odd to be dragged from a place you had been living in for twenty-some years. But it had been almost ten years since you left, so I requested that you be brought back to this world.”
“Why?”
Lion laughed lightly as if Heero’s request was something so small and trivial. “Because you’re needed. But I can’t explain that right now ... now is the time for your training. You’ve been gone for a while now, so it’s best that we try to improve not only your physical condition, but to see if your memory will return.”
“So you’re saying it’s true then. I’ve got some sort of memory loss?” Lion’s response was a slow and purposeful nod. He was making Heero feel uncomfortable, as if there was so much more going on than him needing help. “What kind of training will this be?”
“Well, I’m going to leave that up to Hawk. But I will tell you this -- he’s a very strict man and will not allow for any weakness. Be on guard while training because he will not hold back.” Heero nodded solemnly and stood. He wanted to go back out to the courtyard and speak with Knight, but Hawk was standing in the doorway now with a smile that sent chills down Heero’s spine.
“Are you ready for your first lesson, Lord Eiichi?” Heero straightened his back and he felt himself start to glare at Hawk, whose smile in turn lost a bit of its bravado. “This way, m’lord.” He bowed deeply, but Heero caught a glimpse of the anger which filled his eyes before they were hidden by long strands of wheat colored hair.
-----
Knight paced back and forth, occasionally casting his gaze toward the castle doors which Heero had disappeared through. He knew that he wasn’t going to be allowed to rejoin him, Lion was smarter than that, but Duo’s stubbornness was far greater than that man’s genius. He would wait there for a bit longer, and if he didn’t see him again there would be later. It was just a matter of patience and outwitting Lion. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Shiro let out a small sigh as he came to a halt next to Knight.
Duo smiled at his longtime friend, and could tell that there was something on Quatre’s mind by the intense look in the boy’s eyes. “Hey, Shiro. What’s up?”
Shiro shifted a bit uncomfortably and glanced around as if he were looking for someone. “We need to go somewhere else ... some place where we can talk as Duo and Quatre.” Duo’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he shrugged and followed Quatre away from the courtyard and back inside the castle.
“Quatre, I don’t think there’s anywhere that we can --”
“There is. Just follow me.” The two men traversed winding hallways that Duo wasn’t even aware existed. After walking for some time they came to a dead end.
“Um, Quatre ... where the hell are we?” Quatre turned and smirked. Without saying a word, he raised his hands, the markings on his arms began to glow a soft green. There was a bright flash of light and then a door appeared before them.
“She placed this here before she left ... I just found out about it.” They passed through the doorway and into a small room. “She used to come down here to try and find a way out of this hell. I thought that it would be a good place to talk.”
“About what?” Quatre sat himself at the small table in the center of the room, and turned his large green-blue eyes up to Duo.
“You’ve got your mask on ... I know you’re worried about Heero remembering, aren’t you?”
“No.” Duo sighed and joined Quatre at the table. “It’s not that I’m worried about that ... if he were to remember things would be a bit simpler then -- wouldn’t they? He’d hate me and I’d hate him, but him not remembering makes things a bit ... more complicated.”
“You feel as if you still have a chance, huh?” Duo nodded as he began to pick at his fingernails. He didn’t want to discuss any of this with anyone, not even Honor his closest friend. Things had been said between himself and Heero right before his leaving. Things that he had never told anyone. “Duo ... WuFei wants me to help him escape.”
“What?! Quatre that’s suicide!”
“I know, but -- Trowa’s with him. I want to! I’d rather risk death than wait around here for Trowa to come back to me. I know that -- he left to protect me, but still ...” Quatre’s voice trailed off as he lowered his face to hide the tears welling in his eyes. “If -- if Heero ... you’d go after him.”
“In a heartbeat. I did -- why do you think I was the one who volunteered?” Silence drifted between them for a few moments before Duo spoke once more. “So, why did you want to talk with me if you’ve already made up your mind?”
“I need your help. WuFei wants someone on the inside -- and I know how much you hate Lion and Hawk.”
“Quatre, you know that Rose is watching all of us. She’ll figure it out --”
“No, she won’t. Honor’s going to --”
“No! She is not! Whatever it is that you’ve dragged her into ... the answer’s no! She can’t lie to save her life, she’ll be found out instantly! Do you want something to happen to her?” Quatre glanced away from Duo. He had known that this would be his reaction, but she had already answered ‘yes’ when he had asked earlier that day. “She’s already agreed, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Duo. I am! But it’s not so hard, you’ll be doing all the work -- and she’ll be sending the information to me, who’ll pass it on to WuFei.” Duo closed his eyes tightly, trying to rein in his emotions. “Duo, please ... just say you’ll help a bit. That’s all we need.”
“Is this for that damned revolution that WuFei’s been planning for years?” Quatre glanced away, which was all the answer Duo needed. “Goddammit, Quatre! You know that it’ll never work! How do you think that the others died!?” Duo slammed his chair against the table and began to pace back and forth. His head was beginning to pound and even though he had supported the revolution before, he was older now and knew that it was a stupid move. “Quatre, please think through this again. I’m begging you ... is Trowa worth getting everyone who remains behind killed?”
“Duo! That’s not fair, and you know it!” Quatre’s eyes were filled with fury as he glared in defiance. “If the situation was reversed and Heero was the one out there, you would be leaving too! Don’t you dare deny that.”
“No, you’re wrong. I wouldn’t ... because I would worry about everyone else before my ass’s desires.”
Quatre fought back the urge to punch Duo, it wasn’t as if he just wanted to be with Trowa again physically, but no matter how one looked at it, he was being selfish. “Look, I want out of this place. If I could get rid of my stupid powers I would ... I’m just so tired of this all -- and so is Honor, if you’d actually listen to her.”
“I do!” Duo calmed himself a bit, knowing that his temper was getting the better of him. “Let me think about this. It’s not like WuFei’s going anywhere ...”
“Thank you, Duo.”
Duo ruffled his hand through Quatre’s hair and chuckled. “Sorry about what I said.”
“You meant it -- and you’re right to an extent. I am being selfish, but love is a selfish emotion.”
“Yeah ... I know.” A memory of Heero’s body pressed closely to his own flashed past his mind’s eye and caused an aching within him that could only be fixed by Heero, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, especially since Lion and Hawk had their claws in him now.
-----
Heero leaned against the cool stone wall, amazed at his fighting skills. Hawk had left him alone after spending most of the afternoon running him through various drills. If there had been any doubts left in his mind that he was in fact this person, Eiichi, which everyone had proclaimed, they were gone now. The markings on his arms were starting to slowly appear, the first sign that his old self was returning, not that Heero was aware of that, but he definitely felt different now. He lifted his hands up and stared down at his palms. Only a few moments ago, strong energy had flowed from them, striking Hawk with such force that he had been flung the entire length of the massive hall. His show of strength begged the question of what exactly was he? Heero grunted softly, dismissing the question from his mind. He was tired, hungry, and needed a long soak in the tub, not to ease any aching muscles, but to clear his mind.
One thing that truly did surprise him was that he was in no way tired after training for the better part of the day. He hadn’t always been this way, he could remember clearly that whenever gym came around, he would tire before anyone else. What was it about this place that had changed him so? Why did feel even more energized now than when he had awakened that morning? Nothing was making any sense to him. He stood and made he was way up to his room for a nice long bath.
Once he was settled in the steaming bath water, Heero leaned his head back against the tall marble tub’s rim. As he lay there, Knight’s face popped into his mind, and it was just then that he remembered his promise to seek him out again so that they could finish their conversation. The thought made him sink deeper into the hot water. He didn’t really want to finish talking with Knight, there was something about him that left an unsettled feeling within Heero’s heart. Almost as if something was left unfinished, something horrible and painful. A soft scuffling noise pulled him from his thoughts and set him on guard immediately. The thought that it was someone like WuFei again made him tense, he didn’t want to fight someone again, even though it felt as if his blood was now yearning for it.
Heero cleared his throat a bit nervously, hoping that it would draw some attention to the fact that there was someone present in the rooms. The soft scuffling got a bit louder, as if it were coming closer to him. That wasn’t what he had wanted. Heero reached out to pick up his towel as the door began to creak open. He froze as a tall figure filled the empty door space. Clear blue eyes gazed down at him with an unreadable expression. “Well, well ... it looks as if he really was able to do his job.” Heero swallowed hard not knowing who this person was or what he wanted. The man was a bit smaller than himself, but had the same broad body as Duo. To be truthful, he found this other man intimidating. “You don’t seem to remember me. I suppose that it’s good you don’t remember anything -- have you spoken with Knight about the past?”
Heero’s eyebrows bunched together in utter confusion. He settled back into the tub and stared at the man, who was now lowering himself to sit upon the toilet cover. “Who are you?”
The man began to laugh, it was a deep throaty laugh one full of life and joy. At that moment, parts of Heero chastised him for being so jumpy. There was nothing to fear from this man, it was just that he was a bit suspicious, coming in unannounced while he was bathing. “I’m Jester, well -- Solo. I more or less raised Duo, Quatre, WuFei, Honor. We were all street kids, and we stuck together when we were dragged here. Well, wait -- no, Honor wasn’t a street kid. She was,” he glanced around to see if anyone was listening and once he seemed satisfied he continued, “taken forcibly from her family.”
“That’s terrible!” Solo made a soft noise as he mulled over Heero’s reaction. It wasn’t much like Eiichi, but then he had lived twenty-six years in a world completely different from the one they were now in.
“Yes, it is isn’t it?”
“May I ask why you came in here?” Solo chuckled softly. If this was the new Eiichi, he hoped that he could stay this way, it was nicer than his normal rudeness.
“I came in here because I wanted to tell you that Duo is looking for you. I also want you to know that you must be very careful. If Lion gets wind that you and Duo are seeing each other secretly that’ll be the end of it. I’m not sure what he would do this time, but last time was bad enough -- so watch yourselves.” Heero nodded, wondering what had happened the previous time, but Solo was getting up to leave and he seemed to not want to answer any questions which he had been left with. “I helped to hide your sneaking off together in the past, but I’m not sure if I can do it this time.” His back was to Heero and there was a weariness in the way which he stood. “Please promise me that the two of you will be sensible this time. Just do what Lion wants and everyone will be happy and well.” With that he left Heero to finish his bath.
“Strange ...” Heero sunk back into the water, mulling over what Solo had said to him. It still puzzled him how everyone refused to tell him exactly what had happened between his old self and Knight. He knew for certain that they had at least been very close friends, with the possibility of being lovers, but there was something more, something sadder that no one seemed to want to speak of. Since Knight was looking for him, Heero decided that he would ask him all the questions he had about their relationship.
-----
“It& rsquo;s impossible.”
Grey-blue eyes scanned the tall hill which Lion’s castle sat upon. She had come because of WuFei, but now wasn’t certain it had been a wise decision. Her two bodyguards stood next to her, and she could tell both of them were uneasy for differing reasons. The one who had spoken had a very good reason to be concerned, but the other, she suspected, was just too green to be this close to their enemy so soon.
In an attempt to calm both boys, she spoke quietly as she rested her hands on the guards’ shoulders. “Quatre’s a smart boy. His love will make him turn against Lion -- it’s the only card we can play right now, so you better learn to be less cynical.”
“Yes m’lady.” They both bowed shallowly and the shorter of the two, the more nervous one, glanced around with an expression of total fear.
“I knew I shouldn’t have brought you along. Look at you, your quivering.”
The young brunette smiled sheepishly at his mistress. “Forgive me m’lady. I know I insisted upon coming. I’m truly sorry.” His apology received a soft sigh from her and a grunt of disgust from the other guard.
“When did Quatre say that he would contact you?”
The mistress looked up at the calmer guard and smiled. “At midnight. We wait until then.” She prayed quietly that no one would discover their location before the set time, if they did then it would mean certain death for the timid guard and would spark the beginning of the revolution far sooner than planned.
Duo laid back on his bed, exhausted from the day’s events. He had tried looking for Heero, but had been unable to find him. After a few moments of lying still, his eyes began to drift shut as he fell into a gentle slumber. As he slept he began to have a strange dream about rough hands sliding up and down his torso and heated breath panting in his ear. His body began to react to the touching, but something didn’t feel right. He forced his way through the heaviness of sleep until his eyes opened, it was then he saw the figure moving next to him. Long blonde tresses fell upon his naked chest as the sheets were pushed slowly off his body. It took a few moments for his mind to register exactly what was happening. “Hawk?” His voice was still heavy with sleep causing a soft masculine chuckle to spill forth from the blonde. He tried to scoot away from him, but a strong pair of hands pinned him back onto the bed.
Hawk pressed his mouth fervently against Duo’s, nipping and biting at the other’s clinched lips. Duo tried to push him off, but Hawk’s entire body was now holding him in place. “Why are you struggling? If I were Heero, would you still struggle?”
“Get the fuck off of me,” Duo growled with a strong air of defiance. He stared into what were normally proud and strong clear blue eyes, but now they were clouded as if --. With a burst of strength, Hawk was thrown off and fell with a sickening thud onto the wood floor.
Duo had to get out of his room, quickly. One of Hawk’s slender hands grabbed onto the sheet as he began to sit up. “You know, that hurt ...” The laughter which burst forth from the blonde was a hollow and unnatural sound. Duo grabbed his robe and backed away from the bed. This didn’t look good for him. He could feel the barrier which had been set on his door; there was no way out and Hawk seemed very determined to get what he wanted. His stalker rose slowly from the floor, and cast an evil leer in his direction. “I see.”
Duo’s violet eyes narrowed as he glared at the intruder. “See what? Did Lion put you up to this?”
“Put me up to what? Trying to sleep with you? My dear Duo, I’ve always been attracted to you ... this is only natural.” He was slowly making his way across the room toward Duo, whose brain was frantically trying to come up with a way to rid himself of Hawk. “Let’s play a bit -- just a bit. No one will have to know ... and since it’s with me, then you can have your fun and Lion will simply overlook it.” The man had gone crazy, at least that was Duo’s conclusion. “You look frightened.”
“Not frightened. Why would you frighten me? You’re crazy.”
“No. I’m perfectly aware of what I’m doing right now, and why.” Before Duo could react, Hawk had thrown him onto the ground using a burst of magic energy. His head bounced on the floor and dazed him, the room began to spin and in only a few moments his world went black.
Gundam Wing belongs to Hajime Yadate, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and Bandai
geovisit();
Warnings: Strong Language, Small Out-of-Characterness (particularly on Heero's behalf).
Character Names:
Eiichi -- Heero, Knight -- Duo, Shironeko -- Quatre, Nanashi -- Trowa, Fayte -- Honor (an OC), Jester -- Solo, Lion -- Treize, Hawk -- Zechs, and Rose -- Une
“That stupid fucking bastard! He’s enjoying this! I know he is. That sick piece of shit.” Duo slammed his fist against the wood paneling in Honor’s room as she quietly shut the door behind them. He had been holding in his rage the entire trip up to her room, where they had decided to discuss what had just happened; however, it seemed that Duo was more intent upon yelling and throwing a fit than discussing anything.
“Um, Duo ...”
“What?!” He winced as he realized that he had snapped at his friend. “Sorry. What is it?”
“I think you should -- talk with Heero.” Honor knew that she was trespassing on dangerous territory. The two men had not had the friendliest of partings and now she was daring to mention a reconciliation between them.
“No. You know that won’t work, the man doesn’t remember anything -- and besides, even if he did somehow regain his memories he’d just go back to ignoring and hating me.” Duo plopped down into one of the chairs which flanked the fireplace on the far wall. His heart felt as if someone was trying to squeeze it out of his chest, and he silently cursed Heero for being the cause of the pain.
“Duo, you can’t say that for certain. He did -- no does love you.” Duo raised his weary indigo eyes up and smiled humorlessly.
“If you say so, Miss Optimist. But you weren’t there when he left, you didn’t hear what he said to me ...” Honor moved close to Duo and wrapped her arms around his shoulders trying to give him any comfort she could. She didn’t like seeing him this way, and he had been in a constant state of sadness since Heero had left.
“Please, just give it a try -- see if he can remember something ... anything. Or maybe he may still love you, despite not having Eiichi’s memories.” He sat still for a few moments thinking about the possibilities of being given a second chance with Heero. The same risks applied as they did before, same sex love was strictly forbidden by Lion’s law, but that made the prospect a bit more exciting for him.
“I’ll go and see him -- to make you happy.” Honor smiled brightly as she walked Duo to the door. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Thanks, Duo.” She raised up on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss upon his cheek, and wished him luck one last time.
Heero sat in the middle of the courtyard thinking about a number of different things, but mostly about his role in that world. He seemed to be someone of great importance, but no one had explained exactly how important he was. Then there was Knight, he had been acting very strangely toward him and the fact that he looked somewhat like Tsuzuki was troubling. “Ei-pi.” The soft masculine voice caused an image of a strong male body writhing with passion beneath his touch. Confused, Heero shook his head trying to rid himself of the fantasy. The middle of the courtyard was nowhere to be daydreaming of such things. “Eiichi!” The voice was more insistent and louder this time. Heero slowly turned to find Knight standing behind him, his arms crossed against his chest, and a miffed look upon his face. He found himself staring at the other man, desire slowly starting to form deep within him. It wasn’t that much of a surprise to him that he was attracted to Knight, after all he did look like Tsuzuki, didn’t he? For a moment, Heero had trouble remembering just what Tsuzuki had looked like. As he concentrated, he realized that Tsuzuki’s nose hadn’t been quite so large, nor were his eyes that amazing shade of blue with a touch of indigo. “Ei-pi, are you going to stare at me all day? I have something I need to talk to you about.” Heero mentally shook himself, and grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry ... what was it that you wanted?”
“Let’s take a walk.” Duo glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, he knew that no matter where they went the likelihood of them being completely alone was very slim. As the two walked along the winding garden path, Heero continually stole glances of Knight. It genuinely surprised him that he hadn’t seen the differences between this man and Tsuzuki before.
“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”
Duo stopped and waited for Heero to face him. “Heero,” the sound of his name startled him. He didn’t know that Knight knew his real name, but he stayed silent so that he could hear what the other was about to say. “Do you -- remember anything? About me?”
“Am I supposed to?” Duo smiled to hide the pain, but somehow Heero could tell that his answer had hurt him. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cause you any grief ... I told you before that you kind of look like my friend Tsuzuki.”
“Hmm. Yeah, you said that before. It’s okay if you don’t remember. There were ... things that we said before you left -- that would be better off forgotten.” Duo began to pick absentmindedly at the large bush beside him. He wanted to confess all his feelings to Heero, but since he couldn’t remember the past, it was pointless.
“Is that what’s bothering you? What happened exactly?”
“I’d rather not share all of it ... let’s just say that -- we were lo--”
“Lord Eiichi! Lord Eiichi!” Hawk came running up to the two men, and Duo felt like strangling him. He knew that Lion had been listening in on their conversation and had not wanted the truth revealed to Heero at any cost. “I’m glad I found you. Lion wishes to see you ... immediately.” He grabbed onto Heero’s arm and began to drag him away from Duo. Uncertain as to where he was being taken, Heero pulled away from Hawk and glared at him.
“I’ll stay here until Knight is finished speaking with me.” The sudden change in demeanor only phased Hawk for a second. He smirked as he realized that the true Eiichi was starting to bubble forth, and that maybe allowing a longer conversation between Knight and Eiichi wasn’t such a bad thing. However, that would be against Lion’s orders, so with a deep bow Hawk apologized.
“Lord Eiichi, you’ll be able to speak with Knight after you speak with Lion. It’s his orders, and you know we must all follow his orders.” Heero glared at Hawk, but resigned himself to going with him since it didn’t appear that he would allow him to stay with Knight.
“Why does he want to see me?”
“Because, he hasn’t had the opportunity to meet our dear lord.”
“About that title ... just what am I lord of?” Heero watched Hawk closely, not certain what reaction he was looking for, it seemed to be another one of those odd quirks which he had developed in the past two days.
“All of this ... well the lands surrounding this great castle. Your family was one of wealth and power before the government was handed over to the Children of Oz. So therefor, you are technically the figure head with no power.” Heero’s brow knitted together, this man had just mocked him openly. Even if he was a fake lord, that didn’t give anyone the right to mock him. “Lion is through these doors.”
Heero breathed in deeply for a bolster of support and pushed open the same doors which Honor and Duo had been through earlier that day. He found Lion leaning nonchalantly against the mantel, an unreadable smirk plastered on his flawless face. There was an air of authority about him as well as sophistication, there was no denying that this man was the head of the covenant. “You wished to see me ... Lion?” The name felt bitter upon Heero’s tongue, but he had no idea why.
“Yes, m’lord. Please, have a seat.” With a touch of caution, Heero made his way to a seat near Lion. “Excellent, I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“As well as one could be given the circumstances.”
“Yes, I suppose that it was a bit odd to be dragged from a place you had been living in for twenty-some years. But it had been almost ten years since you left, so I requested that you be brought back to this world.”
“Why?”
Lion laughed lightly as if Heero’s request was something so small and trivial. “Because you’re needed. But I can’t explain that right now ... now is the time for your training. You’ve been gone for a while now, so it’s best that we try to improve not only your physical condition, but to see if your memory will return.”
“So you’re saying it’s true then. I’ve got some sort of memory loss?” Lion’s response was a slow and purposeful nod. He was making Heero feel uncomfortable, as if there was so much more going on than him needing help. “What kind of training will this be?”
“Well, I’m going to leave that up to Hawk. But I will tell you this -- he’s a very strict man and will not allow for any weakness. Be on guard while training because he will not hold back.” Heero nodded solemnly and stood. He wanted to go back out to the courtyard and speak with Knight, but Hawk was standing in the doorway now with a smile that sent chills down Heero’s spine.
“Are you ready for your first lesson, Lord Eiichi?” Heero straightened his back and he felt himself start to glare at Hawk, whose smile in turn lost a bit of its bravado. “This way, m’lord.” He bowed deeply, but Heero caught a glimpse of the anger which filled his eyes before they were hidden by long strands of wheat colored hair.
Knight paced back and forth, occasionally casting his gaze toward the castle doors which Heero had disappeared through. He knew that he wasn’t going to be allowed to rejoin him, Lion was smarter than that, but Duo’s stubbornness was far greater than that man’s genius. He would wait there for a bit longer, and if he didn’t see him again there would be later. It was just a matter of patience and outwitting Lion. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Shiro let out a small sigh as he came to a halt next to Knight.
Duo smiled at his longtime friend, and could tell that there was something on Quatre’s mind by the intense look in the boy’s eyes. “Hey, Shiro. What’s up?”
Shiro shifted a bit uncomfortably and glanced around as if he were looking for someone. “We need to go somewhere else ... some place where we can talk as Duo and Quatre.” Duo’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he shrugged and followed Quatre away from the courtyard and back inside the castle.
“Quatre, I don’t think there’s anywhere that we can --”
“There is. Just follow me.” The two men traversed winding hallways that Duo wasn’t even aware existed. After walking for some time they came to a dead end.
“Um, Quatre ... where the hell are we?” Quatre turned and smirked. Without saying a word, he raised his hands, the markings on his arms began to glow a soft green. There was a bright flash of light and then a door appeared before them.
“She placed this here before she left ... I just found out about it.” They passed through the doorway and into a small room. “She used to come down here to try and find a way out of this hell. I thought that it would be a good place to talk.”
“About what?” Quatre sat himself at the small table in the center of the room, and turned his large green-blue eyes up to Duo.
“You’ve got your mask on ... I know you’re worried about Heero remembering, aren’t you?”
“No.” Duo sighed and joined Quatre at the table. “It’s not that I’m worried about that ... if he were to remember things would be a bit simpler then -- wouldn’t they? He’d hate me and I’d hate him, but him not remembering makes things a bit ... more complicated.”
“You feel as if you still have a chance, huh?” Duo nodded as he began to pick at his fingernails. He didn’t want to discuss any of this with anyone, not even Honor his closest friend. Things had been said between himself and Heero right before his leaving. Things that he had never told anyone. “Duo ... WuFei wants me to help him escape.”
“What?! Quatre that’s suicide!”
“I know, but -- Trowa’s with him. I want to! I’d rather risk death than wait around here for Trowa to come back to me. I know that -- he left to protect me, but still ...” Quatre’s voice trailed off as he lowered his face to hide the tears welling in his eyes. “If -- if Heero ... you’d go after him.”
“In a heartbeat. I did -- why do you think I was the one who volunteered?” Silence drifted between them for a few moments before Duo spoke once more. “So, why did you want to talk with me if you’ve already made up your mind?”
“I need your help. WuFei wants someone on the inside -- and I know how much you hate Lion and Hawk.”
“Quatre, you know that Rose is watching all of us. She’ll figure it out --”
“No, she won’t. Honor’s going to --”
“No! She is not! Whatever it is that you’ve dragged her into ... the answer’s no! She can’t lie to save her life, she’ll be found out instantly! Do you want something to happen to her?” Quatre glanced away from Duo. He had known that this would be his reaction, but she had already answered ‘yes’ when he had asked earlier that day. “She’s already agreed, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Duo. I am! But it’s not so hard, you’ll be doing all the work -- and she’ll be sending the information to me, who’ll pass it on to WuFei.” Duo closed his eyes tightly, trying to rein in his emotions. “Duo, please ... just say you’ll help a bit. That’s all we need.”
“Is this for that damned revolution that WuFei’s been planning for years?” Quatre glanced away, which was all the answer Duo needed. “Goddammit, Quatre! You know that it’ll never work! How do you think that the others died!?” Duo slammed his chair against the table and began to pace back and forth. His head was beginning to pound and even though he had supported the revolution before, he was older now and knew that it was a stupid move. “Quatre, please think through this again. I’m begging you ... is Trowa worth getting everyone who remains behind killed?”
“Duo! That’s not fair, and you know it!” Quatre’s eyes were filled with fury as he glared in defiance. “If the situation was reversed and Heero was the one out there, you would be leaving too! Don’t you dare deny that.”
“No, you’re wrong. I wouldn’t ... because I would worry about everyone else before my ass’s desires.”
Quatre fought back the urge to punch Duo, it wasn’t as if he just wanted to be with Trowa again physically, but no matter how one looked at it, he was being selfish. “Look, I want out of this place. If I could get rid of my stupid powers I would ... I’m just so tired of this all -- and so is Honor, if you’d actually listen to her.”
“I do!” Duo calmed himself a bit, knowing that his temper was getting the better of him. “Let me think about this. It’s not like WuFei’s going anywhere ...”
“Thank you, Duo.”
Duo ruffled his hand through Quatre’s hair and chuckled. “Sorry about what I said.”
“You meant it -- and you’re right to an extent. I am being selfish, but love is a selfish emotion.”
“Yeah ... I know.” A memory of Heero’s body pressed closely to his own flashed past his mind’s eye and caused an aching within him that could only be fixed by Heero, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, especially since Lion and Hawk had their claws in him now.
Heero leaned against the cool stone wall, amazed at his fighting skills. Hawk had left him alone after spending most of the afternoon running him through various drills. If there had been any doubts left in his mind that he was in fact this person, Eiichi, which everyone had proclaimed, they were gone now. The markings on his arms were starting to slowly appear, the first sign that his old self was returning, not that Heero was aware of that, but he definitely felt different now. He lifted his hands up and stared down at his palms. Only a few moments ago, strong energy had flowed from them, striking Hawk with such force that he had been flung the entire length of the massive hall. His show of strength begged the question of what exactly was he? Heero grunted softly, dismissing the question from his mind. He was tired, hungry, and needed a long soak in the tub, not to ease any aching muscles, but to clear his mind.
One thing that truly did surprise him was that he was in no way tired after training for the better part of the day. He hadn’t always been this way, he could remember clearly that whenever gym came around, he would tire before anyone else. What was it about this place that had changed him so? Why did feel even more energized now than when he had awakened that morning? Nothing was making any sense to him. He stood and made he was way up to his room for a nice long bath.
Once he was settled in the steaming bath water, Heero leaned his head back against the tall marble tub’s rim. As he lay there, Knight’s face popped into his mind, and it was just then that he remembered his promise to seek him out again so that they could finish their conversation. The thought made him sink deeper into the hot water. He didn’t really want to finish talking with Knight, there was something about him that left an unsettled feeling within Heero’s heart. Almost as if something was left unfinished, something horrible and painful. A soft scuffling noise pulled him from his thoughts and set him on guard immediately. The thought that it was someone like WuFei again made him tense, he didn’t want to fight someone again, even though it felt as if his blood was now yearning for it.
Heero cleared his throat a bit nervously, hoping that it would draw some attention to the fact that there was someone present in the rooms. The soft scuffling got a bit louder, as if it were coming closer to him. That wasn’t what he had wanted. Heero reached out to pick up his towel as the door began to creak open. He froze as a tall figure filled the empty door space. Clear blue eyes gazed down at him with an unreadable expression. “Well, well ... it looks as if he really was able to do his job.” Heero swallowed hard not knowing who this person was or what he wanted. The man was a bit smaller than himself, but had the same broad body as Duo. To be truthful, he found this other man intimidating. “You don’t seem to remember me. I suppose that it’s good you don’t remember anything -- have you spoken with Knight about the past?”
Heero’s eyebrows bunched together in utter confusion. He settled back into the tub and stared at the man, who was now lowering himself to sit upon the toilet cover. “Who are you?”
The man began to laugh, it was a deep throaty laugh one full of life and joy. At that moment, parts of Heero chastised him for being so jumpy. There was nothing to fear from this man, it was just that he was a bit suspicious, coming in unannounced while he was bathing. “I’m Jester, well -- Solo. I more or less raised Duo, Quatre, WuFei, Honor. We were all street kids, and we stuck together when we were dragged here. Well, wait -- no, Honor wasn’t a street kid. She was,” he glanced around to see if anyone was listening and once he seemed satisfied he continued, “taken forcibly from her family.”
“That’s terrible!” Solo made a soft noise as he mulled over Heero’s reaction. It wasn’t much like Eiichi, but then he had lived twenty-six years in a world completely different from the one they were now in.
“Yes, it is isn’t it?”
“May I ask why you came in here?” Solo chuckled softly. If this was the new Eiichi, he hoped that he could stay this way, it was nicer than his normal rudeness.
“I came in here because I wanted to tell you that Duo is looking for you. I also want you to know that you must be very careful. If Lion gets wind that you and Duo are seeing each other secretly that’ll be the end of it. I’m not sure what he would do this time, but last time was bad enough -- so watch yourselves.” Heero nodded, wondering what had happened the previous time, but Solo was getting up to leave and he seemed to not want to answer any questions which he had been left with. “I helped to hide your sneaking off together in the past, but I’m not sure if I can do it this time.” His back was to Heero and there was a weariness in the way which he stood. “Please promise me that the two of you will be sensible this time. Just do what Lion wants and everyone will be happy and well.” With that he left Heero to finish his bath.
“Strange ...” Heero sunk back into the water, mulling over what Solo had said to him. It still puzzled him how everyone refused to tell him exactly what had happened between his old self and Knight. He knew for certain that they had at least been very close friends, with the possibility of being lovers, but there was something more, something sadder that no one seemed to want to speak of. Since Knight was looking for him, Heero decided that he would ask him all the questions he had about their relationship.
“It& rsquo;s impossible.”
Grey-blue eyes scanned the tall hill which Lion’s castle sat upon. She had come because of WuFei, but now wasn’t certain it had been a wise decision. Her two bodyguards stood next to her, and she could tell both of them were uneasy for differing reasons. The one who had spoken had a very good reason to be concerned, but the other, she suspected, was just too green to be this close to their enemy so soon.
In an attempt to calm both boys, she spoke quietly as she rested her hands on the guards’ shoulders. “Quatre’s a smart boy. His love will make him turn against Lion -- it’s the only card we can play right now, so you better learn to be less cynical.”
“Yes m’lady.” They both bowed shallowly and the shorter of the two, the more nervous one, glanced around with an expression of total fear.
“I knew I shouldn’t have brought you along. Look at you, your quivering.”
The young brunette smiled sheepishly at his mistress. “Forgive me m’lady. I know I insisted upon coming. I’m truly sorry.” His apology received a soft sigh from her and a grunt of disgust from the other guard.
“When did Quatre say that he would contact you?”
The mistress looked up at the calmer guard and smiled. “At midnight. We wait until then.” She prayed quietly that no one would discover their location before the set time, if they did then it would mean certain death for the timid guard and would spark the beginning of the revolution far sooner than planned.
Duo laid back on his bed, exhausted from the day’s events. He had tried looking for Heero, but had been unable to find him. After a few moments of lying still, his eyes began to drift shut as he fell into a gentle slumber. As he slept he began to have a strange dream about rough hands sliding up and down his torso and heated breath panting in his ear. His body began to react to the touching, but something didn’t feel right. He forced his way through the heaviness of sleep until his eyes opened, it was then he saw the figure moving next to him. Long blonde tresses fell upon his naked chest as the sheets were pushed slowly off his body. It took a few moments for his mind to register exactly what was happening. “Hawk?” His voice was still heavy with sleep causing a soft masculine chuckle to spill forth from the blonde. He tried to scoot away from him, but a strong pair of hands pinned him back onto the bed.
Hawk pressed his mouth fervently against Duo’s, nipping and biting at the other’s clinched lips. Duo tried to push him off, but Hawk’s entire body was now holding him in place. “Why are you struggling? If I were Heero, would you still struggle?”
“Get the fuck off of me,” Duo growled with a strong air of defiance. He stared into what were normally proud and strong clear blue eyes, but now they were clouded as if --. With a burst of strength, Hawk was thrown off and fell with a sickening thud onto the wood floor.
Duo had to get out of his room, quickly. One of Hawk’s slender hands grabbed onto the sheet as he began to sit up. “You know, that hurt ...” The laughter which burst forth from the blonde was a hollow and unnatural sound. Duo grabbed his robe and backed away from the bed. This didn’t look good for him. He could feel the barrier which had been set on his door; there was no way out and Hawk seemed very determined to get what he wanted. His stalker rose slowly from the floor, and cast an evil leer in his direction. “I see.”
Duo’s violet eyes narrowed as he glared at the intruder. “See what? Did Lion put you up to this?”
“Put me up to what? Trying to sleep with you? My dear Duo, I’ve always been attracted to you ... this is only natural.” He was slowly making his way across the room toward Duo, whose brain was frantically trying to come up with a way to rid himself of Hawk. “Let’s play a bit -- just a bit. No one will have to know ... and since it’s with me, then you can have your fun and Lion will simply overlook it.” The man had gone crazy, at least that was Duo’s conclusion. “You look frightened.”
“Not frightened. Why would you frighten me? You’re crazy.”
“No. I’m perfectly aware of what I’m doing right now, and why.” Before Duo could react, Hawk had thrown him onto the ground using a burst of magic energy. His head bounced on the floor and dazed him, the room began to spin and in only a few moments his world went black.