Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami's Braid ❯ Shinigami's Braid ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: Not mine. No harm. Dont sue. Im broke anyways.
Warnings: Um... confusing? Possible OOC. And Quatre-the-real-estate-magnate. ;)

SHINIGAMIS BRAID
By RurouniTriv



Hed waited so long, hed fought so hard. Now, sick and disoriented, he waited still, hoping that this time, Hed come.
The only peace youll ever know is in the arms of Death. It had come to him in a dream, that knowledge, and everything hed experienced in his life had done nothing but reinforce the belief. He remembered the darkness of the figure hed seen in that dream, a darkness that somehow shone with an inner light. Hed seen glimpses of it here and there, people who had a touch of that inner light. But hed never seen anyone who managed to seduce him away from his courtship of Death. Of all the people hed ever known, only Duo came close.
And now Duo was dead. They all were, all the pilots but him. He knew he should want revenge, want to kill those who had betrayed them, but he was so tired. So very tired of killing, of sending others to the peace he wanted for himself. Why cant they just let me rest? I never wanted to become the Perfect Soldier, never wanted to be the conscienceless killer they made of me. I just want to rest. I just want a little of that peace that they told us we were fighting for.



Duo Maxwell was not smiling. To anyone whod known him more than five minutes, this was a sign of very bad things. Duo had the kind of face that was made to smile and when he didnt it generally meant that someone was about to die.
Or, as in this case, several someones were already dead. He and the other pilots had managed to track down the bastards whod attacked them and kidnaped Heero and were infiltrating their base.
Damn it , Duo thought, I thought that we were done with this shit when the war ended. But noooooo, somebody has to decide that they want a collection of Gundam pilots, and they arent gonna take no for an answer. He felt his lip curl in a snarl. Well, theyre finding out that nobody messes with the Gundams and lives!
Another guard, another corpse. Duo was not in a good mood. Shinigami lives, you rat bastard, he whispered as he dropped the dead man in a corner. And Im pissed.
They made their way to the labs where their information told them Heero would be and found their fellow pilot in some kind of sensory deprivation unit. Quickly, they extracted him from the womb-like environment and set him down on the metal table nearby. His eyes opened and he looked at them, obviously drugged. Duo leaned over him, worried, and Heero grabbed his braid with a surprising deftness, winding both hands in it. Shinigami, he breathed. You came. Was I good enough this time? Can I rest?
Yeah, Heero, you did great, just take a break, let me take care of things, okay? You rest.
Promise? Promise? I dont have to go back?
Sh, just relax, Im here. He gently tried to extract his braid from Heeros hands, but the Wing pilot clutched at it desperately, as if afraid that Duo would disappear. Its okay, Im here.
Dont make me go back. I just want to rest, I dont want to go back.
A little stuck there, Duo? Quatre asked in amusement. Trowas one visible eye was gleaming with matching humor from his position by the door.
We could always cut him loose, Wufei said, an unholy glint in his dark eyes.
Touch my braid and youre gonna find out why they call me Death, Duo swore. Quatre grinned, and he even got a small smile from Trowa. Wufei simply raised an eyebrow and smirked as Duo sighed and picked up the Wing pilot, who retained his death grip on Duos braid as he curled up in Duos arms.
Come on, weve spent too much time here, Trowa said quietly. Theyre going to realize whats going on soon enough, even with the Preventer attack to distract them.
They made it out the same way theyd come in, slipping through the holes in the defense that theyd created. It wasnt very long at all before they had piled into the truck theyd arrived in, Duo still cradling Heero against his chest as the pilot clutched his braid like a child with a favorite teddy bear.
He looked almost like a child, too. Very young, very vulnerable, very unlike his usual cold and calloused self. Even when he slept, his face tended to retain its harsh discipline. But now it was soft and peaceful, utterly relaxed as he cuddled against Duo.
Well, it was peaceful until Duo tried to loosen his grip on Duos braid. Without opening his eyes, Heero curled up tighter and wrapped his body defensively around the braid. Duo yelped as the move yanked his hair. Ow ow ow, Heero, easy man. Its okay, its all okay. He stroked the taller boys back soothingly and started humming, then singing. Amazing grace/ how sweet the sound/ that saved a wretch like me/ I once was lost but now am found/ was blind but now I see...



He heard the singing. His own personal Angel of Death, always trying so hard to keep him alive, to make him feel again. He was being carried, he was in someones lap. Slowly, it percolated through the pain that this was real. This wasnt a hallucination.
And if it was, so what? Hed stay in this dream forever.



Duo continued quietly singing all the way back to the Preventers base and the clinic they had inside, and Heero relaxed utterly, leaning trustingly against the American pilots shoulder as they rode through the city and walked through the Preventers regional office. He didnt even bother to open his eyes, just held the braid and let himself be carried.
They arrived at the clinic to find Sally Po waiting for them. Theyd called ahead and made certain that she knew what was going on, so she had a needle ready to take a blood sample the instant they arrived. Popping that into the analyzer she turned her attention back to Heero and the amazing collection of bumps, bruises and cuts hed managed to collect in the process of resisting capture. Hm. Nothing broken, not even anything that needs stitching. I am amazed. But then, I suppose that he was at a disadvantage, what with not having a built-in self-destruct mechanism, she said dryly.
Duo was the only one who noticed the shudder that ran through Heeros body at that. Hey, guys, chill, I think he can hear us. He bent his head to Heeros and whispered reassurances to him, and the Japanese boy settled back down, the tension smoothing away as he muttered something. Duos mouth quirked. Okay, hes definitely out of it.
What did he say? Quatre asked.
That he should have known I was telling the truth when I said I was Shinigami. His eyes rolled.
Duo Maxwell, he runs, he hides, but he never lies, Quatre teased.
Oh, shut up.
Sally finished giving Heero a once-over and checked the results of the blood test. Ah, there we are.
So what does it say? Is he going to be all right? Duo asked.
Hell be just fine. Looks like you got him out in time. They gave him a combination of hallucinogenics and hypnotics, probably in preparation for brainwashing, but Dr. Js given him a rather high tolerance for such things and we all know how stubborn he is. Judging by the way hes been reacting to you and the fact that hes identifying you as Shinigami, Id say that hes reacting as favorably as he can at the moment. Hell need to be kept quiet and relaxed, and Id advise you to make sure that someones watching him until he wakes up just in case... Oh, and make sure you dont have anything that can be used as a weapon around when he does, because hes going to have the hangover from hell and we all know how fond he is of blowing things up.
Just a couple hours until he wakes up, you said?
Hai.
And I suppose that unless I can find a way to detach him from my hair, Im going to get volunteered to watch him until he does, he said resignedly.
You would have that task anyway, Wufei said. You have a talent for surviving his wrath.
Hah. You just dont want to deal with the infamous Yuy Death Glare.
Quatre blinked up at him innocently. But Duo, dont you know youre the only one whos immune to it?
He shook his head and hauled himself and Heero off the examining table. Whatever. Hey, Quatre, you got anyplace near here?
Ive got places everywhere, the sweet-faced blond said with a laugh. And Rashids waiting outside to take us to the nearest. Well have you and your new hair ornament settled in no time.
Duo just sighed and headed for the door, Heero still in his arms.
Ten minutes later, they were comfortably ensconced in a featherbed large enough to sleep a small army and Heero was curled against him.
With his hands still firmly attached to the braid.
Ne, Heero, what am I gonna do with you? Duo whispered. You grab my hair, you call me an idiot, you threaten to kill me a hundred times and I still think youre the best thing since sliced bread. God, Im pathetic. Not thinking about it, he started to pet the short, disheveled hair on the head that lay so trustingly nestled in the crook of his neck.



Heero woke from his living nightmare warm and safe. He couldnt remember the last time hed felt like that.
Of course, it would have been considerably more pleasant if his head hadnt been having a debate with the rest of his body over whether it should fall off, explode, or just start heaving up every speck of food which had passed through his mouth since he was ten or so.
He gradually came to realize that there was someone stroking his hair, and that his hands were clutching what felt like a very thick, very soft silk rope. His face was snuggled up to a warm hard chest and a heart beat a reassuringly steady rhythm under his right ear.
The body he was curled up against, the feel of the silky braid, the warm masculine scent that filled his nostrils, they all told him whose arms he was lying in, whose hand was smoothing his unruly hair, and the knowledge relaxed him as much as anything could while he was feeling as if his Gundam was tap-dancing on his head.
Heero? Duo asked, and he groaned. The Deathscythe pilot was a good soldier, a deadly fighter, a trustworthy friend... but he talked more than anyone that Heero had ever met and he didnt think that he could take the braided Americans incessant chatter when he had a head that felt like it was going to go into a core meltdown at any second. You awake? Good. Let me up, Ill get you something for that headache. Sally said youd need it when you woke up.
Heero groaned again. He didnt want to move. His head might fall off. And even if it didnt, he didnt want to give up this feeling of utter comfort. Duo made a good pillow when he wasnt trying to talk a guys ear off.
Come on, Heero, have a heart. I havent been able to take a leak for ten hours, Duo pleaded.
Heero grumbled. Dont blame me for that, baka.
I will blame you for that. Youre the one who decided to take up a career as a hair ornament. And I am not going to cut it just so you can use my braid as a teddy bear.
Heeros eyes snapped open at that, then just as quickly squeezed shut. Light... He pulled a pillow out from under them and buried his head under it, and Duo took advantage of the opportunity to squirm out from under Heero with a deftness that Heero was sourly certain had been honed by many a midnight rendevous. Ill go get you some medicine and Ill be back right away, okay? To give him credit, Duo was whispering, and trying to avoid jostling the bed and making Heeros headache worse.
It seemed like forever before Duo returned, much refreshed and bearing a glass of water and a handful of pills. Here. Take these, wash it down with this. You were drugged, thats why your heads hurting so bad, but Sally says youll be fine once the hangover wears off. He helped Heero to sit up and steadied the glass as Heero gulped it down. There, now, just lie back and relax. Sally said that this stuff should work just as well for the aftereffects of the drug you were given as it does on me when Im on the third day of a two day binge. He smiled as he took the now-empty glass. More?
Heero grunted, and Duo interpreted that as a no. Okay. Ill go and let you rest then.
Heero reached out and grabbed his braid, not letting go. You want me to stay? A tug on the braid pulled him toward the bed and he climbed back in.
Quiet, he asked, and Duo smiled.
I can do that, he whispered as Heero made himself comfortable against his side with a sigh. Something about Duos presence made his head ache a little less fiercely, and the tentative hand that resumed stroking his hair soothed him further. He squirmed a little, settling into a slightly more comfortable position, and then did his best to not even breathe. He just wanted to lay there in the quiet and feel the peace soaking into his bones, feel the pain in his head and body recede.
Neither one of them knew how long theyd been lying there together before Heero chuckled. It was a rare sound. In the years that theyd known each other, Duo could still count the number of times hed heard it on one hand... and have fingers left over.
What?
When I was little, I had this dream. It was just once, but it was... it was powerful . I knew it was more than just an ordinary dream.
Duo listened, silenced at the idea of Heero opening up, sharing something so obviously private with anyone.
I was talking to someone, I dont know who, but they were telling me something. They said that when I was grown, I would be a warrior, which I already knew, since Id been trained for that all my life already. But then they told me that those who would send me into battle would give me wings, and I would fly with those wings through Hell and back with the Reaper as my constant companion, but I would find no peace until I lay in the arms of Death. Thats why I was so reckless, you know. I was... tired. Id never had a chance to be happy and just be a kid. I wanted to rest. I wanted peace. So I did crazy things that could get me killed, but every time I lived. I made it through things that no one should and I just kept on going because my Wing was going to take me to a place that I could be at peace.
Duo was quiet for a little while, hoping that Heero would continue. When he didnt, he ventured a question. But why did that make you laugh?
Heero raised himself on one elbow and grabbed Duos braid again, tickling the Deathscythe pilots nose with the end. Because all this time, Ive been chasing the wrong Shiginami.
Duo blinked, then smiled, that mile-wide grin that he only got when he was truly happy. Well, its about damned time you figured that out!