Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Somewhere I Belong ❯ Chapter 2

Somewhere I belong

 

Authors Notes:

 

Thank-you for the all the reviews. I will not respond to each individually, however much I may want to, as I know it can be extremely annoying to be faced with a page or more of authors' notes before the chapter even starts.

 

Hopefully I will be getting my new laptop this week …. : Bounces up and down hyperly: I've been saving for one since January xD That means: More updates of more fanfics (hopefully) quicker! Yay…. ._.'

 

I feel that I have to make an excuse for this chapter unfortunately. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, you may wish to skip this part. I hated how Duo so easily agreed to have Deathscythe destroyed, even if it was for the greater good. Hence a large chunk of this chapter.

 

youko-love - Yes, I did decide to use the pairing you suggested : ) I most likely would have paired Itachi with Sasuke and Wufei otherwise, or Neji with Gaara, as I have yet to attempt to fully use either character (Though I love them both xD I never would have thought to pair them together automatically…Though KakaItaIru could have been fun) Silent Revolutions next chapter, along with an explanation is being typed up shortly after this update, along with, if things go according to plan, another chapter of another fic.

 

Chapter Two: Homeward bound

 

 

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud

 

He made his way quickly and quietly down the stairs, having opted out of taking the elevator as so many other agents did.

 

Twelve floors. He was grateful, as usual, that his office was not higher up, as his former team-mates offices were.

 

`It's a quarter past four' he thought, glancing down at his gundanium wristwatch.

 

When that fateful day had drawn closer and closer- the day that he, along with Quatre, Trowa and Heero, would send their gundams into the sun, he had known that he could not do it. Not completely.

 

Deathscythe had been his one constant-his one friend, his protector, his comforter, his partner for so long. How could he betray him like that? How could he just-just forget him, destroy him by sending him into the inferno?

 

And so he had gone to Howard for help. The old man and his sweeper crew had been the closest thing to a family he had had in a long time. They had helped him, supported him, and hidden him when necessary, throughout the war whenever they could. They had offered him a safe place to stay-food, a bed, friendship, companionship if he so wished. They had treated his wounds and helped him hide from the enemy. They had repaired and provided parts for his beloved Deathscythe. They offered him a place amongst them.

 

He knew that if anyone could help him, then it would be them.

 

Flashback

 

“SO, can you do it?” he asked seriously, leaning over the metal railings. He faced away from the old man, looking out across the ocean. Violet sparkled with uncertainty and need, his anxiety blatantly obvious with every tense muscle and twitch of his stiffly poised body.

 

“Well shit, kid. You don't go doing things by halves, now, do ya?” the middle-aged man claimed, whipping his shiny, balding head with a plain handkerchief. He still had some of his hair, just, not all necessarily in the right places. He worse a violently pink-neon, and florescent green Hawaiian shirt with plain tan shorts and black flip-flops. Large, dark sunglasses glinted in the harsh midday sunlight, reflecting off of the endless blue surrounding them.

 

Duo blew at his bangs, one hand reaching up to pull the ever present silver chain out from beneath his loose white shirt. He had forgone the usual black for this trip, knowing that it would be far too hot to cope with. Instead, he wore a plain white silky shirt left completely undone, with long white cotton trousers and boots. He played with the cross, hanging delicately from the end of the chain.

 

“I know, Old man, I know. And I've left it to the last possible minute as well. But if anyone can do it, I know you can! Aww, come on now Howie-ya know I'm good for the money. I can pay you for it upfront.”

 

“Flattery will get you everywhere”

 

Duo span around to face a grinning Howard. A small, childish smile started on plump cherry cherubim lips, before stretching into a wide grin.

 

He threw himself at the older man, hugging him enthusiastically. He could feel himself tearing up.

 

“And I'll have you know, I take offence at that” Duo drew back at his serious tone. A tanned, weatherworn arm stopped him, winding its way around his shoulders. Duo looked at him, bewildered. “Like I'd charge you. Brat.” He ruffled Duo's hair.

 

He opened his mouth. Then closed it, searching for word. “I-I, I'm paying. That's final.”

 

Howard sighed, ready for a fight. “You're family, Duo.”

 

“Family or not, you're gonna need some help from some of the guys to get this little lot done on time. And they deserve to be paid, ne?” Duo argued.

 

“They all agree with me, kid. You're a part of the family. Family helps family.” Howard insisted.

 

“Exactly why I'm paying. I have money. I don't need this much money. You have many people working here. Family helps family.”

 

End of flashback

 

He had a fair bit stored away from the war - funds `generously donated' from a variety of Oz bank accounts, hidden here and there. He had more hidden away than even Heero had. He knew what it was like to live with nothing. He wanted to make sure that he-and a select few special causes-never had to do so again.

 

Howard had come through for him, of course. The two of them had worked together, side by side, for three days straight. They had removed all of Deathscythe Hell's chest plate, along with a large part of the cockpit and head.

 

There had been no room for error-they couldn't just go back for more if they made and mistake and ran out of gundanium. It wasn't an option.

 

A select part of the sweepers' crew started work on replacing the missing parts with pieces of Leo remains, working non-stop to make them appear as though they had always been there.

 

On the forth day they sent their gundams into the sun. it hurt-hurt like he was destroying a part of himself-as though he had decided to cut off a part of his soul and just discard it, burnt it like trash. He didn't know how the other three could stand it. He couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if he hadn't have kept that part of Deathscythe Hell.

 

On the fifth day, they began working on it-on his project. It took them over a month to complete it, but they were just perfect. They were just what he had wanted, just how he had imagined them to be.

 

A watch-slim line, compact, durable; two guns-replicas of his favourite Colts that he had used throughout the war, with a shitload of ammunition; seven knives - two long bladed for close-combat, five short-bladed for throwing; two matching rings; a cross and chain made to replicate his silver one exactly; a bookmark; a sword-long and slender, made with skill to rival Wufei's own beloved Kanata with a matching, intricately designed scabbard, and, the most important of all-a laptop. Slim line, sleek and near-on indestructible, with all the safety measures that dear old Deathscythe herself had had in place. Safe and sexy as hell

 

Each item had his mark etched into them, the work `Shinigami' done in swirling script with two small crossed scythes on either side.

 

Each made from parts of his old friend, the laptop installed and wired with parts of his old operating system.

 

They served as a reminder-they allowed him a connection with his past, with his partner, that mere memories alone could not do. Reminders of what he had done, who he had been, what he had fought for, what he had been willing to sacrifice, what he had been willing to kill for and to die for.

 

He made his way onto the sidewalk outside of Headquarters. He squinted up at the sky. Crystalline blue skys of earlier that morning had disappeared, replaced instead by stormy grey. Heavy rain clouds moved at a steady speed, looking as though they were ready to burst at any given moment.

 

“Great. Just great. Peachy.” He muttered to himself, letting out a huff. He eyed the distance between the shelter of the overhanging enterence and the bus stop, almost at the end of the long, long street.

 

Taking a deep breath, he joined the streaming mass of afternoon shoppers and businessmen, making his way speedily through the sea of coats and umbrellas.

 

He had decided against investing in a car or bike. Each time he thought of it-of owning his own set of wheels, he felt excitement bubble up from the depths of his stomach. Yet each time he went to look around the lots, he felt cold and empty, the excitement of it all leaving him.

 

It just wasn't any fun without a person to share it with-a father figure to try and talk him into a more sensible model, a friend to argue over the greater aspects of the car he really wanted over the car that he knew his friend wanted, to watch with shared excitement and jealousy, a partner to help him make his choice. And so, instead, he had invested in a bus pass.

 

He had grown to like it. He had never liked the brief moments of silence, of feeling so alone when he was on his own, in a machine that was not his beloved Deathscythe. On the bus, that was never the case. Screaming children, chatty teenagers, tutting old women, people on their way to and from work. Never a dull moment, never a second of silence.

 

He waited, luckily, for a short period of time for the bus to arrive.

 

Clothes clinging to his still slender, short, lithe frame, he was drenched to the skin as he signalled to the passing 627, boarding with a smile and a flash of his pass.

 

The journey was like any other, arriving with the usual delays due to traffic, an argumentative passenger, and a wrong-turn made by the driver. They arrived at his stop within three quarters of an hour.

 

Skys still pouring, he darted from the bus, flying across the clean, cracked pavement, making it to the bottom of the small flight of stone steps within seconds.

 

Key in hand, he made it to the porch, quickly stepping inside. He took the stairs two at a time until he made it to his apartment door.

 

“Home….”

 

End of chapter two

 

To be continued.

 

Reviews would be much appreciated.