Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Living Shinigami ❯ Death and the Doctor ( Chapter 23 )

A/N: Welcome to the newest chapter of this fic. I’m sorry for the delay of this update. It’s actually been written for a while now, but only got typed today because I’ve been dedicated most of my time this month to my newest novel, being written for NaNoWriMo, which you should all look up. By the way, I am still looking a for a beta. The details can be found in my profile. So, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Read and review!

“Living Shinigami”

Chapter Twenty-three

Death and the Doctor

As Duo’s body slid into a long-forgotten stance, his world narrowed to the demon standing before him. Even as aged as Muraki was from the photos he’d seen, the shinigami knew that he’d be a fool to think the man weak. Seeing that he wasn’t going to be underestimated, Muraki straightened up, lifting his cane from the floor and twisting the head. His opponent didn’t blink when his sword was revealed.

There was silence as the two clashed.

Left to their own devices, Wufei and the former prisoners search for an exit.

“How did you get in here?” Quatre asked. “We should be able to get back out the same way.”

Wufei snorted. “Can you walk through walls? We didn’t use a door.”

Beside them, Relena found herself mouthing ‘walk through walls?’ She was so stunned that she didn’t notice right away when they, having spotted a door, began to walk away. Growling, she ran after them. “Wufei Chang, I want an explanation, and I want it now, so you’d better start talking.”

“Please, tell us what happened to you,” Quatre said as Wufei knelt down in front of the door.

“Do either of you have any hair pins?” he asked, holding a hand out behind him, effectively ignoring the questions.

Fishing one out of her hair, Relena handed it to him and watched as it was twisted into a workable lock-pick. “Wufei…”

The Chinese man waited until the lock clicked open. “Turns out that Duo’s not really from L2. Wasn’t born on any of the other colonies either. His real name’s-”

“Hijiri Tsuzuki,” Quatre interrupted. “Born in Tokyo. We’ve done our research.”

“Hijiri-sama wasn’t born in Tokyo, Quatre,” Wufei said. He tossed a worried glance toward the sword battle before ushering the two out of the room. Once he got them to safety, he could return to aid his friend. “He was born in the underworld to a pair of men that have been dead since old calendar days. As for being a kami, he’s pretty damned close. I’d give it four years.”

“What happens in four years?” Relena asked.

Wufei checked the new door in front of them, finding it unlocked. “He stops aging and goes home.” A prickling at the back of his neck made Wufei shiver. He threw open the door and all but shoved Quatre and Relena outside. “Run.”

They got away from the building all too soon as flames erupted from every opening, including the door they’d just exited from.

“Duo!”

-

Duo cursed as his enemy’s sword sliced into his arm, adding yet another bloody gash to his already impressive collection. What had he been thinking? The only time he’d so much as touched a sword in the last decade before he received his mother’s had been swiping Wufei’s and hiding it. Muraki had obviously been practicing a lot over the centuries.

“Kurikara!”

The air burned as the dragon smith appeared in the room in all of his scaled glory. Catching sight of his master’s injuries, he gave a roar of anger, charging at the deranged doctor.

Muraki hastily summed a ***** to intercept Kurikara’s attack, and the two beasts grappled above them. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Muraki made a charge of his own.

As the blade struck through him, Duo let out a scream to shatter the heavens.

-

Wufei tried to fight Quatre and Relena’s hold that kept him from dashing back into the burning warehouse. The three froze as a scream rang out, the sound tearing through their very souls, Wufei’s especially. His lord needed him.

Finally, he broke free, unsheathing the Kurosaki sword as he ran. So focused, he never noticed that the fire was not burning him, and he barely spared a glance at his enraged ancestor. His eyes immediately went to the slumped body of his friend and lord, and to the cane sword sticking out from him.

Muraki stood over him, unwinding a long spool of dark thread in preparation to tied the body. (1)

All his years of training seemed to concentrate in his mind, manifesting in his hand as he ran forward with a great yell. Muraki gasped, blood flying from his mouth. Looking down, he stared in disbelief at the two feet of folded steel protruding from his chest. Bloodied, the engraved kanji was easy to read. “Kurosaki?”

“His mother’s death avenged by his own sword,” Wufei said, surprisingly calm as he jerked the sword out, swinging it higher in one glittering arch.

Muraki was dead before his head hit the floor, the rest of his body soon toppling over after it.

Wufei ran to where Kurikara was wrapped around Duo’s body, Muraki’s beast vanishing with his death. The forge fires also vanished. Running footsteps and horror filled gasped told him that Relena and Quatre had re-entered and saw Duo’s body as well.

“Oh god, is he-” Relena cut herself off, unable to voice her fear.

The guardian didn’t answer, rolling his lord to pull the sword out, throwing it as far away from him as he could. More blood gushed out to soak the silk of Duo’s robes and Wufei’s.

“Ancestor?” Wufei ventured to ask, looking up at the dragon. He was by far more frightening now that he was in his human form.

Kurikara snorted, nosing Duo’s body. “The children of kami don’t roll over and die so easily. Kenko will wake up when he’s good and ready. Hour, maybe two. Tops.”

Hiding his surprise that he dragon could speak (and the form of address that Wufei had used), Quatre found himself meeting the beast’s eyes. “So he really is almost a kami?”

“Yes, little empath, he is,” Kurikara said with a grin. “You look a lot like his mother, you know. He’s an empath too. Hope you don’t plan on challenging me.”

Quatre quickly shook his head. No way was he challenging something that big, especially when it seemed to be an ally.

Seemingly satisfied that his master would be looked after, Kurikara returned home, leaving the three humans alone with one corpse and one future shinigami. Gritting his teeth, Quatre searched the doctor’s clothes for a cell phone, thanking the heavens when he found one, intact and working.

His fingers were on automatic as he dialed. “Trowa? This is Quatre.” There was a pause where Wufei and Relena could hear a million fast and worried questions. “No, I’m alright. Muraki’s dead. Can you trace the signal? I’m not sure just where we are. Someplace in the warehouse district. Yes, Duo and Wufei are here. Tell Heero and Millardo that Relena is unharmed for the most part.” Covering the receiver, he turned blue eyes to Wufei. “Heero wants to talk to Duo.”

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1. The hair of a murdered woman. Used to bind a shinigami.