Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Living Shinigami ❯ Videa and Dragon Blood ( Chapter 16 )

“Living Shinigami”

Chapter Sixteen

Video and Dragon Blood

The four pilots were glad to be able to return to their own offices and their own apartments, which didn’t look like they were about to fall apart. Une had already set the techies on retrieving the requested video sections. While they waited, they tried to figure out just what had happened in the past of one Duo Maxwell.

For short term, all four agents had moved into one conference office to better work on their solitary case, with what they’d gathered written or taped up on a giant white board. The painting, on loan, had been framed and hung in plain view along with the photos from Duo’s desk and apartment.

No contact from either missing pilot had resulted in the remaining ones nearly pouncing on the poor phone every time it rang, in hopes that it would be Duo or Wufei. No such call arrived, but they did get one from the techies immediately upon the readiness of the video.

When they arrived at the lab, a grim-faced Une had had already beaten them there. “You definitely need to see this.”

“You found him on the video?” Quatre asked, clutching the back of one techie’s chair with white knuckled hands.

“Did we ever,” the man said. “Your friend used to live one high end life, even if his father dressed like a member of the yazuka.”

Heero pounced, making the man jump. “His father’s in the video? How can you tell?”

Eying the former pilot 01 nervously, the tech reached forward to start the gathered video clips. “See for yourself. L2 was one of the first to do color security videos. Unless you think there are people with that coloring in other families, he’s blood.”

“We gathered feed from all of the cameras we could find to follow the three of them,” another tech said as the image of a lobby came into view on the screen. “They should be coming in right about… now.”

Three breaths were drawn collectively as ‘they’ did indeed come in. Duo, dressed as he had been in the painting, was being carried on the arm of a tall, brown haired man in sunglasses that did little to hide his laughing face. True to word, he wore a large black trench coat not too different from the one Duo had worn out in town the night of his birthday.

The person with them looked very feminine, and it wasn’t actually all that clear on whether or not ‘he’ was a man. Quatre was about to ask when Trowa tapped the screen just over the blond in the video. “Kurosaki Hisoka? Can we get a closer look at her left hand?”

“I can try,” the tech said, and a moment later they had it.

“It’s the same ring,” Millardo said with a nod. “I believe that we have Duo’s mother.”

The video went back to its standard view and continued to follow the trio as they passed by the front desk before heading to the elevator. The two adults, whom they assumed were Duo’s parents, appeared to be bickering slightly. But due to the lack of sound, they couldn’t tell what was being said. Duo slept with his head on his father’s shoulder, oblivious.

The camera switched to the elevator view, which looked strange due to the angle. Duo’s father, Asato, jostled his son until sleepy eyes opened. Quatre and Une both let out a soft coo as the child pilot yawned, stretching with small fists clenched. Tweaking Duo’s nose, Asato removed his sunglasses and tucked them into a pocket. The cheerful violet eyes revealed left no question that he was Duo’s father, if any had remained before.

The view switched again when they left the elevator on the fifth floor, according to the small notation in the corner of the picture. Duo was set down to stand on his own in front of the secretarial desk while his parents spoke to the woman seated there. They held a brief conversation before Asato bent down to speak to Duo, pointing to the woman as he explained something to the boy. Glancing over the desk, he looked at her for a moment before nodding to his parents and releasing their hands, which he’d been previously holding tightly onto.

The group split ways as Duo headed behind the desk and his parents went down a hallway and disappeared behind one of the many doors. There was a ten minute jump in the time stamp before the flames began to emerge from the door they’d went through. A few moments later and the screen dissolved into static. The techie switched off the video.

“There’s not much to see, but I’d say it’s a miracle that your comrade survived, especially at such a young age and in a tricky outfit like that. It’d be nearly impossible to run,” the techie said, shaking his head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d put some stock in what your suspect said about him not being human.”

“Kami coming down to earth only occurs in myth,” Heero said with a snort. “We’ve seen Duo survive plenty of difficult situations. That’s why he was our stealth specialist.”

Quatre didn’t have anything to say in reply to that as Millardo and Trowa exchanged a silent glance. If anyone in their group had a chance at being supernatural, it was Duo.

-

Wufei figured that with how nervous his grandfather looked as he led him away from the group, he probably should be feeling the same way. When they’d walked a suitable distance, Mao gestured for him to sit down on a low garden wall.

“How much do you know about how our clan gained the title of Dragon Clan?” the shinigami asked, sitting down beside Wufei.

“Family legend says that we’re descent from a dragon,” Wufei said cautiously. He suddenly recalled the title Moa had been using for Kurikara. “You don’t mean-”

“That we are the descendants of Kurikara himself?” Mao questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, we are. His fifth child, a son, escaped to the mortal world after the battle with Sohryu and started a family. He’s kept in contact with those that pass on to become shinigami, like your grandfather.”

“But if we serve our ancestors and Kurikara serves Duo, then…” the pilot trailed off, eyes widening as he looked over Mao’s shoulder to see where Duo was chatting happily with Meiran.

“Exactly, my grandson,” the man said calmly. “There’s something about the events surrounding Hijiri-sama’s birth that you do not yet know. You should get comfortable. It’s not the shortest tale.”