Revolutinary Duo-kun: Eternal Revolution Part 3
Threats and Promises
Heero gathered up his books as class ended, exiting the classroom with the rush of other students. He made his way outside the building to meet up with Quatre. As he walked he ignored the other students, his thoughts turned inward. He had to explain the entire situation to Quatre but he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to do that, especially when he barely understood the situation himself. The fact that he couldn't remember exactly what happened after he'd taken Duo's sword and charged for Treize also threw in a very annoying complication. If only he could remember that part... it would certainly make things simpler.
He'd taken Duo's sword and turned, charging for Treize. All around him the gundam's eyes had lit up and then... and then there was nothing. The next thing he remembered was being back in the dorm room, the empty dorm room. All of Duo's things were gone, as if he had moved out, and only Heero remained with the bunk bed and desks that were provided by the academy. The possibility of Duo having never of existed was frighteningly possible, except for the fact that he wasn't the only one who remembered the braided American. The other duelists remembered him so it wasn't all a dream. But what exactly had happened after that last duel?!
Heero dismissed his doubts, worries and frustrations as he spotted Quatre waiting under the shade of a tree. It wasn't hard to spot him, considering that Quatre still wore the uniform for the old school, the dark red standing out in a sea of students dressed in black and white uniforms. Heero made his way to where Quatre waited patiently.
"Ohiyo," Quatre muttered quietly. Thanks to sleep Quatre had returned to looking more like his normally cheerful self; the redness was gone from his eyes and he looked well rested, even if he wasn't smiling as he usually did. But his eyes were locked on something quite interesting across the yard. Heero followed his line of sight and spotted Solo sitting on a wooden bench, his nose buried in a textbook.
"Is that who I think it is?" Quatre asked softly. Apparently the possibility of Duo still being alive excited the boy. He had a look of awe and disbelief across his face, Heero imagined that it mirrored what his face had first looked like when he'd spotted Solo Kama.
"That's what I'm not sure about. He claims his name is Solo but he is too similar to Duo to just pass it as coincidence." Heero frowned in thought. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him at length, there are a few... complications."
Quatre looked back to Heero, raising an eyebrow. "Complications?
Heero nodded. He opened his mouth to respond when he noticed someone walking straight for them, Catherine. She walked right up to him, completely obvious to Quatre's presence, and glared into Heero's eyes. Heero frowned right back, not angry enough to glare at her... yet.
"You're Heero aren't you? I met you in the dojo yesterday."
Heero responded with a short nod, nothing more.
"What do you want with Solo? Why do you keep following him?"
Heero just shook his head at her. "You're mistaken, I don't know what you are talking about." He turned to leave, to walk away but she caught his arm with a tight grip. A very strong, tight grip.
"Stay away from him," she hissed. "Just stay away from him."
Heero's eyes drifted back to her and narrowed significantly, but she didn't seem intimidated in anyway.
"I'll say it again. Stay away from Solo, I won't let anyone hurt him." With those sharp words she released Heero's arm. Before turning away she locked eyes with Quatre for only a moment, long enough to glare at him threateningly, then walked off toward Solo. Heero and Quatre watched as Solo glanced up from his book to see her. At this a smile covered her face and she raced over toward him as if nothing had happened. Solo hadn't seen the little encounter, how unfortunate, Heero thought.
"Who in the world was that?" Quatre asked.
"That was the complication. Her name is Catherine and she has apparently taken it upon herself to protect Solo... from everything." Heero clenched his fists in frustration, forcing his anger back inside. If Catherine weren't in this whole equation it would make things so much easier! But thanks to her there was almost no way he'd be able to speak with Solo alone, especially not now. It wasn't hard to figure out that until Heero left town Catherine would be hanging around Solo like a leech just to keep him away. Heero swallowed his frustration, forcing his face to go blank. He had to speak with Solo again...
"Maybe I can try talking to him," Quatre suggested.
Heero nodded and grunted an agreement. Maybe Quatre would be able to speak with him, but it wasn't likely. Silently Heero wished Quatre luck, the boy was going to need it.
~*~
Later that night Quatre approached the dojo where Heero had said he'd been able to speak to Solo. Quatre really wasn't sure what he was going to accomplish, or how he was going to accomplish it, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Of all the duelists he'd known Duo the best, having been his best friend for years before the duels had even started. If anyone had a chance of getting through to Solo to see if it really was Duo it was Quatre. Even if he had to admit he was basically searching in the dark for a light switch that might not even exist.
The other problem was that Catherine had known Heero was at the dojo, and there was a big chance that she would be there waiting for him. She'd seen him standing next to Heero, so she knew the two boys were connected... Quatre sighed. He'd deal with her when and if she was there, and not worry about it until then. Despite the fact that she may care deeply for Solo, Quatre cared for Duo, and there was no way he was going to let her stand in the way of his finding out if Solo and Duo were one and the same. Quatre was normally the one who didn't like to fight, but he could if he had to. And he had no regrets about forcing past her to speak with Solo. If that's what it took he'd do it.
"Besides, if I can just explain to her what's going on, maybe she'll understand and back off. She was probably just really intimidated by Heero, maybe I have a chance of talking to her and smoothing this all out." Quatre smiled to himself, it seemed like a good plan. It should work, there was really no reason why it wouldn't.
He paused in his steps as he heard a humph from behind him. Quatre turned to see Wufei standing behind him in the fading sunlight, his face scowling.
"Do you honestly expect that to work?" Wufei asked quietly.
Quatre shrugged. "I don't know really. But there's no reason why it shouldn't."
Wufei took a few steps closer and crossing his arms. "There are many reasons why it won't. She won't listen to you, and there's no reason to believe that that really is Duo. The champion duelist dies at the end of the duels, I know that first hand."
Quatre shook his head. "No! You don't know that. And why shouldn't it work? You tried the same strategy remember? When Duo was first dueling you came to me to get me to talk him out of it."
"And you saw how that worked out," Wufei scoffed. "Talking won't get you anywhere with her."
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Quatre sighed softly. "Duo was my friend... If there was a chance that Melian had lived wouldn't you have started looking for her? You wouldn't have given up on her, how can you expect any of us to give up on Duo?"
Wufei's eyes narrowed at the mention of her name. Quatre watched in silence as he closed his eyes and seemed to ponder those words. Finally, in what looked like stubborn frustration, Wufei growled and shook his head. "Fine, I won't stand in your way. But it still won't work."
"Whether it does or not we have to try." Quatre smiled softly and turned away from Wufei, making his way toward the dojo once more. He listened but didn't hear Wufei's footsteps behind him, the boy had chosen not to follow. It was his choice.
As Quatre walked on his mind drifted back to Trowa. He should have mentioned that to Wufei, he should have warned Wufei about it. He glanced back over his shoulder, tempted to run back and find the boy, but he was gone. Quatre sighed. It was too late now, he just hoped Wufei could take care of himself. But then again... maybe finding out about Solo would give him clues about the new duelist.
The dojo loomed in front of Quatre and he swallowed, it reminded him of the imposing figures of the gundams from the dueling arena. Quatre took a deep breath and stepped inside.
He was surprised to find it completely empty. Dark, long shadows stretched across the padded floor and up the walls, stopped only by the moon light from the windows. As soon as Quatre caught sight of the inside he knew something was wrong. It had been a stupid idea to come here, especially by himself this late at night. His eyes scanned the room and settled on something in the corner. A table... with a vase of what looked like black roses.
"Black... roses?" Quatre's eyes widened and he took a step back toward the street. Metal clicked behind him and he whirled around in fear to see a black cloaked figure step around the corner from the outside of the dojo. The figure threw a rose through the air and Quatre caught it numbly on reflex.
He was frozen, watching the cloaked figure stalk slowly toward him. All around him was just the darkness of the night. No sign of people, anywhere. Quatre remembered all to well what had happened with Trowa, how the cloaked figure hadn't hesitated at all, even though Trowa had no sword. A sword...
The figure jumped forward, moving with the quickness of a cat. Quatre gave a cry and threw himself backward, through the door of the dojo. He shielded his face as he rolled across the padding, keeping his eyes closed until his back came to rest against a ceiling support. Immediately he jumped to his feet and looked around the room in a panic. No sign of the cloaked figure. But then again the place was full of shadows and he could be hiding anywhere.
Quatre spotted the rack holding the various swords for practices and gave a silent cheer. Now if he could only reach them... he bolted toward the rack. A second later the cloaked figure came flying out of the shadows, missing him by a hair. Quatre ducked and once again sent himself into a roll, crashing into the rack causing the wood to snap. Various swords scattered across the ground in a loud ruckus. Quatre grabbed the one closest to his hand and jumped to his feet, tossing the sheath away. He gasped for breath as he faced the cloaked figure who'd paused in the center of the room.
He didn't expect me to get to a sword, Quatre realized silently. That realization also told him he had a small advantage. If this 'Death' wasn't used to fighting armed opponents he had a chance, albeit a small one. Quatre concentrated on slowing his breathing back to normal, his eyes locked on his opponent. The cloak would make it very complicated for him to see the figure's movements but if he just concentrated he was sure he could do it. He just needed to concentrate... concentrate...
The figure moved slowly toward him, striking with his sword. Quatre quickly deflected the blow and jumped off to the side, getting away from the pile of scattered sword to keep from tripping over his own feet. The cloaked figure made a few more strikes, but they were all slow and easily deflected. Quatre was confused, why was he moving so slow? Why... He deflected another blow and the realization hit him.
He's testing me! Quatre took a few steps back and watched as the figure evened the space between them. This 'Death' was testing him! Testing him to find out how well he could fight, to find his weak spots. Quatre didn't have to look through the figure's eyes to know what he looked like. It shouldn't have been hard for 'Death' to figure out that Quatre was tiring, his arms already arched from how hard he was clutching the sword. He needed to relax, but it wouldn't matter now. He'd worn himself out by running away and he'd bruised his arms by slamming into the sword rack. Not to mention that whatever energy he had left was quickly fading thanks to fear. It wouldn't be long at all before he couldn't hold his sword anymore... and then he could only run so far...
The cloaked figure jumped forward again, striking out. Quatre blocked but the figure moved quickly and kicked one of the lose swords at the same time. The sword moved through the air and struck Quatre's arm. Despite the fact that the sword was still sheathed it hurt! The shock and pain caused Quatre to lose grip on his sword and the figure took that chance to dive in and knock it painfully out of Quatre's hands.
Quatre jumped backward and clutched his hand where the hilt of the other sword had hit him. The other swords were too far away, he couldn't reach them. The only thing within reaching distance was the empty sheath from the sword he had used. Quatre's mind flew. One chance... if he could...
He dove, throwing himself across the floor for the sheath. His arm and ankle cried out in pain from landing the wrong way but he ignored them, seizing the sheath. Rolling on his back he flung the sheath for the window. It hit it's target, shattering the window loudly across the grass outside.
"WUFEI!" Quatre cried out as loud as he could, but his voice broke off as the shadow dropped down beside him and clutched his throat. Quatre flung the figure away and coughed loudly. He glanced back at the figure and suddenly froze.
The hood had fallen away and he could see the face. Quatre's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Death to be-
The figure darted forward and knocked him back to the ground. Quatre's head hit the padded floor hard enough for it to cause him a good amount of pain and before he could react he felt a warmth above his heart. It was warm for a second and then there was a stabbing pain. Quatre cried out as he felt something reach inside of him. He didn't have to see to see the sword appear in his chest.
All he could do was cry out as the sword was ripped from his chest and his world snapped out of existence into darkness.
~*~
"WUFEI!"
Wufei froze at the sound of the call. It had come from the dojo... he took off at a run in the direction Quatre had gone. After they'd split up Wufei had retreated into the shadows to ponder what Quatre had said. He hadn't come to any good decisions when he'd heard the cry. He still thought Duo was dead and thought that Quatre and Heero were wasting their time on a lost cause. But despite his disagreements Quatre had called out his name... Despite the fact that the duels were over he still felt like he owed them all something for stopping the duels in the first place. And he certainly couldn't deny that Heero and Quatre had suffered almost as much as he had. He owed it to them, whether he liked it or not.
Wufei rushed through the door of the dojo to find silence and darkness. His eyes wandered the room, taking stalk of everything before he made a single move. He spotted the vase of roses on the table, the scattered swords, the broken window and Quatre's body lying dead-still on the floor. But there was nothing else. No one else was in the dojo. Wufei relaxed slightly and moved toward Quatre's body, all the while keeping his eyes on the shadows around him.
He knelt down and placed his fingers on Quatre's neck, there was a very very soft pulse. Well he was alive, but just barely. Wufei took his eyes off the shadows long enough to glance at Quatre's face closely and he froze. Shivers shot down his spine. Quatre's eyes were wide open with fear but... but there was nothing there. It was almost as if he were an empty shell.
"K'so!" Wufei took a step back and stood back up, looking around the room quickly. It was empty, completely. There wasn't a single shape in the shadows, nothing moved. Glancing back at Quatre he suppressed another shudder. That look in the boy's light blue eyes was all too familiar. It was the same look the Star Prince had... the same look the Star Prince had when his soul sword was being drawn for the duel. Which meant that somehow someone had taken Quatre's soul sword.
Wufei narrowed his eyes and knelt down, picking up Quatre's limp body. Then he set off at a quick run for Heero's dorm room. The duels were starting again and he wouldn't let it happen. He'd kill every last duelist if that's what it took to keep history from repeating itself! Not again! But first he had to talk to Yuy, first he had to get an explanation out of Heero. Heero knew what was going on and Wufei would be damned if he didn't get an answer, he'd make Heero answer, no matter what!
~*~
Catherine set the pencil down at her desk and sighed softly. She couldn't concentrate on her homework at all, not after all the things that had happened that day. Especially not after she'd confronted Heero and seen the look in his eyes. It was the look of pure determination; she didn't need to be psychic to see that. Heero wouldn't give up, he wouldn't leave Solo alone, not until he got the answer he was looking for. Even if getting that answer involved hurting Solo.
"I won't let it happen," Catherine muttered quietly. She stood up from the desk and crossed the room to her dresser. Above the dresser sat a picture, a picture of herself and a smiling Solo. She smiled ruefully at the picture. One of the few times he'd ever smiled, she'd been lucky to catch it on camera.
She took the picture in her hands and pressed against her chest, closing her eyes she smiled as she remembered when she'd met him a year ago. She'd been volunteering at the hospital and the head nurse had asked her to look in on a patient in a different wing. She'd jumped at the chance of course, and there he'd been.
At that time Solo had been unconscious and in pretty bad shape. Aside from the large cut in his chest he'd had multiple cuts and bruises and trauma to the head. Not to mention that when he'd finally regained consciousness he couldn't remember a thing.
Catherine had helped him get back to health for two long months and over time had grown to love his smile, even if she'd only seen it a scattered few times. She didn't care who he had been; all she cared about was his smile...
"I promise."
Solo glanced up at Catherine from where he sat in the hospital bed in confusion. "Promise? Promise what?"
She smiled. "Promise I'll make you smile again."
Solo chuckled despite himself. "You've already succeeded in that one, Cat. See?" He smiled broadly at her.
"I promise to make you smile and never let you frown again," she replied back. At those words Solo's expression sobered.
"Smile..." his eyes gained a haunted look. The same look his eyes always gained when he was remembering something, or rather trying to remember. At the time she'd moved forward and hugged him for the first time. The sudden movement and touch had surprised him so much he'd completely forgotten about trying to remember. He just looked at her in surprise.
"I promise," she whispered again.
Solo simply nodded and wrapped his arms around her, seemingly content to just be held for that moment.
Catherine opened her eyes and dismissed the memory silently. She'd promised, she reminded herself. But Heero... There was too much of a chance that he would hurt Solo. If she was going to protect Solo she'd need help...
Catherine walked over to the closet and snatched up her coat, leaving the room at a quick walk. She exited the dorms and crossed the campus, heading down the street at a determined pace. She would need help if she was going to keep her promise.
And she knew just where to go. She knew just who to ask.
TBC...
Back to Snow Tigra's Fanfictions Page