Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Living Shinigami ❯ Ancestor ( Chapter 14 )

“Living Shinigami”

Chapter Fourteen

Ancestor

“Tsuzuki Hijiri. Duo’s birth name was Tsuzuki Hijiri.”

There was silence over the table after Quatre’s announcement. Glancing at their faces, the blond fished out the copied file from his briefcase. He opened it to the infamous birth certificate.

“Mother, Kurosaki Hisoka. Father, Tsuzuki Asato,” Trowa read, taking over. “Test tube birth on January 14th, AC 180. The location was left blank.”

“Those names were on his card,” Heero said with narrowed eyes. “He said his parents were dead.”

“Some people sign future birthday cards for their children if they know they’re dying,” Quatre said, going through the possibilities in his mind. “Or they may not actually be his parents. The staff did say that they’d never actually seen him when the file showed up. The witnessing doctor, Watari Wataka, was also a name on the card.”

“And present in the photos, based on his drawing,” Millardo said, staring at the xeroxed footprints in fascination. So little...

“Did you find anything from your search of the shrines?” Quatre asked.

“Ghost stories and rumors only,” Heero said with a snort. “Apparently a purple eyed man, a demon according to some, died a couple of hundred years ago not too far away. Suicide. They claim that he’s seen every now and then around the city, usually in the company of a young man.”

“Did any of them mention seeing him with a child?” Trowa asked, interested.

Millardo nodded. “One. He was the only priest not to refer to the man as a demon, though he did agree with the rest of the story. This-” He picked up the stack of photos from Duo’s apartment and shuffled through them until he came to the festival pictures. “-was the shrine in his picture. He described their yukata perfectly even before I showed him the photo.”

“How did he describe the man?” Trowa asked, tapping the cut-off man in the photo.

“Tall, broad-shouldered and young, twenty at the oldest,” the prince continued. “With the exact same coloring as our Duo.”

“If Duo was in Japan as a child, then why did he end up growing up on L2?” Quatre asked, perplexed. “Traveling from L1 to L2 I can understand, but going from Earth to a colony that doesn’t even speak Japanese?”

Trowa shook his head in amusement. “Duo does nothing in halves, not even when getting lost.”

-

Kurikara brought Duo back the following morning during breakfast, and Wufei tried not to stare to obviously at the future shinigami.

Sometime during their absence, his comrade had changed out of his usual style of black clothing into what the Chinese man had not expected to see on a human outside of a silk painting.

His outer robe alone could have fed the entirety of L2 for a week, and Wufei was surprised that Duo had been convinced to wear it instead of selling it for just that purpose. There were several others of equal value layered beneath it, partially covered with a pair of hakama clearly designed to be worn only in the smooth grounds of a wealthy household.

“You stay here and... socialize,” the dragon instructed, gently shoving his master toward where Tsuzuki and Byakko were watching. Kurikara’s attention turned toward Wufei. “You, come with me. We need to talk.”

Despite the shiki’s diminutive stature, Wufei found himself nearly having to run to keep up with him as Kurikara abruptly turned and began to walk away from the group. “What is it?”

Kurikara shook his head, not answering until they were well away from even Sohryu or Byakko’s hearing range. “Was your grandfather’s name Chang Mao?”

Wufei blinked, startled. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Were you once married to a woman named Long Meiran?” the dragon continued, ignoring his question. Confused, the human nodded. “Then there’re some people you need to talk to.” A red eye narrowed. “Don’t breath a word to Sohryu about this. He doesn’t know I have the ability.”

Before Wufei could ask what Kurikara was talking about, something grabbed at his soul, calling him. It was brief, but even that moment was enough to leave him breathless. The dragon’s eyes softened a little at the sight, seeing the confirmation as what it was, before offering the Chang head a steadying hand and turning his eyes skyward.

Wufei was still trying to regain his composure when they came flying from the sky. Both were Chinese, one a man of about fifty while the other was a girl of only fourteen at the oldest. With Wufei’s face still turned downward as he caught his breath, neither party could see the other’s faces.

“Honored ancestor,” the man greeted as he and his companion set down, bowing deeply. “How may we be of service?”

“My master has been found,” Kurikara said. “He’s with the four guardians at the moment, but you know he cannot remain here for too long now that he’s built a life in the human realm.”

“Ancestor, surely you aren’t suggesting that we abandon our posts to guard him,” the man gasped, startled.

Kurikara laughed. “No, of course not. I don’t want the old man to cancel his contracts with you. Besides, it’s the duty of the head of the clan.”

“My husband is not dead, Kurikara-sama,” the girl said, finally speaking up. “He still remains in the living world.”

Wufei froze. He knew that voice as well as he knew his own. Looking up, he saw her, still bearing the face she had possessed the day she’d died, a face that was currently wide-eyed as his was.

Time had clearly left a mark on them, what had once been three months separating them changing into seven years. Wufei had gained over a foot on height on her, and an amount of width as well. But for them, there was still no mistaking of identity.

“Meiran?”