DISCLAIMER – I do not own Gundam Wing.
Prologue to NightHunter
The Sister
Duo walked silently next to her, trying to control the emotions he felt for her and the internal flame that warmed his body every time he was near her. He tried to concentrate on the walk to her tiny apartment, rather than the way her light blue eyes sparkled in the twilight. Loving her was wrong, and he knew it. But he just couldn't help himself.
The night was cool, sending a shiver up his back as the cold wind blew around the coat he hugged tightly to him. He was, of course, dressed for his "occupation." His large boots made soft thudding noises against the street as they walked. Form-fitting black leather pants and a tight black button-down shirt were mostly concealed by the knee-length black wool trench coat he wore.
He recognized the spot where they'd met, two weeks ago, as they passed by. He remembered the first time he saw her…
His most recent satisfied customer had given him extra money for cab fare. Nice guy, huh? Duo took a cab back to this dirty part of town, where the grime was permanently all over everything, including him. He always felt dirty after turning tricks, and today was no different. To get his mind off of his joyless life, Duo started to walk aimlessly through the alleyways. Maybe he'd get lucky and someone would shoot him in the back for no reason. That would end his suffering.
Instead, he ran into her. Three men were holding her down, or trying to. For being such a small woman, she had surprising strength, and she fought back ferociously. Her parcels that she'd been carrying were at Duo's feet, dropped a few meters away from where they'd finally tackled her. He stalled. He knew he shouldn't get involved. But what they were trying to do was wrong, on so many different levels.
Duo charged the group, knocking two down with his chaotic tackle and making the third turn and run. These idiots were always so brave when they tried to get a girl. Throw one guy in the mix and they run like frightened mice. He smiled as they all rushed back into the darkness of the alleys.
He didn't look at her as he walked back past her, gathering the few things she'd dropped. He was ashamed. Ashamed of who he was. Ashamed that a tainted whore had to help save…save…
"Thank you, child," she said with a soft voice.
Duo only nodded and held her belongings out to her. She took them and smiled warmly at him. Surely, she had to know what he was. Didn't she?
She must have sensed his tension, for she bowed her head slightly and walked the opposite direction from him. Duo stared after her for several seconds, wondering if he…should he? Oh, what the hell? He'd do it.
"Sister," he called to her, running a little to catch up and walk beside her. "Let me see you safely home."
"I would like that very much…"
Every day since that night, he'd met her at the doors of the church at twilight. They developed a strong friendship on those walks as he escorted her safely to her apartment. Sometimes, when his work had been slow and he was still awake at dawn, he'd meet her at the steps of her apartment to walk her back to the church. He loved the way her face lit up when he surprised her like that in the mornings. She'd always offer for him to join her in the church. But someone like him would dirty the beauty of the church where she volunteered.
She squeezed his arm a little, bringing him out of his reverie. "Dear," – she always called him some little affectionate name like that – "how has your work been lately? I hope more than enough for adequate sustenance."
Duo gulped. "It has been well enough, Sister. It's only for the money…" he started to explain to her, for the hundredth time.
"I know," Sister Clarence said with a pat on his arm. "I know."
He looked down at her. Her light blue eyes were wide and innocent. Her youthful and beautiful face was the only part of her that he could see due to her required robes. He could hear the rosary beads hanging from her belt clink as they walked through the dark alleys. No one was out tonight. Too cold for pedestrian traffic.
"Sister?" he asked for her attention, distracted momentarily by the small fog that resulted from his warm breath. He dreaded this time of year. Winter was dangerous to streetrats.
"What is it, dear?"
"Can I confess to you?"
Sister Clarence stopped walking and turned to look at him. Her ice-blue eyes were now serious as she peered up at his face. "Priests hear confessions, child. I am but a nun."
"I know, but if I tell you…will…" Duo didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say. He wasn't even sure of what he wanted to ask.
"If you speak, dear, God shall know what is in your heart, no matter who you tell." Sister Clarence looked thoughtful for a moment. "So yes, you may talk to me. I will hear you, but God is the one who listens."
Great, that just made him feel more guilty. Duo looked down to the ground. "Sister, please, do not be upset with me," he began. He reached down to grab each of her small hands in his own. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting to hear what he had to say. "Please do not be upset with me, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid I love you, Sister Clarence." Duo felt her hands start to pull away from him. "Please Sister," he begged, dropping to his knees and looking up at her eyes. "Please Sister, forgive me."
He saw her frightened face soften after he fell to his knees. She brought a hand up to caress the side of his face, brushing aside his bangs. A smile brightened her features, and she went down to her knees as well, to look him in the eye. Duo's head started to spin as she came closer, her face within such a close proximity to his own. Not until her lips brushed against his and his eyes closed instinctively did he realize that the lovely Sister Clarence, the light of his dreary world, was kissing him.
"How blasphemous," a dark and husky voice said from in front of him. Duo's eyes snapped open in time to see a large scary-looking man put a gun to the back of Sister Clarence's head. Her eyes remained closed, even when she heard the click of the safety turned off.
Duo trembled where he knelt, not knowing what to do. Most likely, doing anything would get the Sister's beautiful head blown off. So he remained, fear and uncertainty reflecting in the liquid depths of his blue-violet eyes. Slowly, the Sister's eyes opened. She looked incredibly calm, considering the situation. A little smile played at the corners of her mouth and she squeezed his hand slightly. She meant to comfort him.
"So, Sister," the man continued, saying the word "sister" with as much disdain as he possibly could, "indulging in the darker side of life? This little street whore is some trickster, I hear. Not the fresh innocent virgin that you are." The man reached down and pulled Sister Clarence's head coverings off to reveal her short raven hair. "You just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sister. Too bad for you."
Duo's fear was replaced by anger as he saw the man lick his lips in anticipation. He'd die before any vermin like this guy could touch Sister Clarence.
"Stand up," the man ordered, jabbing the Sister in the back of the head with his gun to emphasize his point.
"Heero," Duo heard the Sister whisper. Her eyes were frantically searching behind Duo, looking for something. Or someone.
"UP!" the man insisted.
Sister Clarence held her arms out, accepting Duo into her embrace as they stood up together.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" the man mocked, jabbing her in the head with the muzzle of his gun again.
"Heero," she said again, a little louder. Her chin was resting on Duo's shoulder as they held each other. He couldn't understand why she was calling for some guy named Heero. Duo's body tensed involuntarily as another figure appeared in the darkness behind the man threatening Sister Clarence's life. He saw the gleam of metal and heard the answering click of a handgun cocked as the new figure brought his gun to the back of the man's head.
Without being asked, the man's hands went in the air, and the gun he'd been holding to the Sister's head dangled from one finger. The new man took the gun and must have put it in the back of his belt, judging from the way his arm moved. He resumed a two-handed grip on the pistol trained on the man's head. "Hilde," he called softly.
Sister Clarence stirred in Duo's arms, pulling away from him with a smile and then moving quickly. She reached into the armed man's jacket, pulling out the recently stashed gun and trained it on the head of the previous threat. The blue-eyed man, who Duo assumed must be her friend, relaxed and trained his eyes up and down the alleyway.
"How many?" Sister Clarence asked, glancing at her friend who was doing a perimeter check. She kept the muzzle of her gun against the temple of the other man. "Heero," she called to him again. "How many?"
So that guy was Heero, Duo thought, watching him as he moved. "I count four down the east alley, three behind the dumpster in the south. Two are in a doorway straight ahead."
"Nine total?" the Sister asked.
"Ten, including him," Heero said, jerking his head in the direction of the man now on his knees in front of Sister Clarence.
Duo scanned the places Heero indicated, seeing the lurking forms of men watching them. He was used to this dark, and he could see well. Better than this Heero guy, he thought, noticing that there were really four men behind the dumpster and one behind the pile of trash opposite the dumpster in the south alley. "There's five total down there," Duo said, nodding his head in the direction of the alley to his right. "And there's three on the roof of the red building. Five on the roof of the next building."
Heero and Sister Clarence both glanced in the directions that Duo indicated, resting their eyes on the men on the roofs. "Shit," Heero muttered.
"Where's Wufei?" the Sister asked. Duo was beginning to doubt that she was a true nun. Heero didn't answer her. Someone from the roof did.
"We have your partner!" the voice yelled. "A guy who calls himself Nataku. Recognize him?"
"Yeah," Heero said loudly in answer.
"We don't want to get mixed up in this anymore. Lets just save us all a lot of pain and make a clean trade here. What do you say?"
"I say we can't trust them," Sister Clarence growled. "No way are they going to just let Nataku walk if we hand over their second in command," she reasoned.
"Do we have a choice?" Heero asked in a low voice. "Get up," he said, directing his attention to the "second in command." He screamed up at the rooftops. "You got a deal." They all waited as the five men on one roof made their way down the fire escape. One of the men was definitely a prisoner, being pushed in from behind as they walked down the stairs. They reached the ground, next to the two men who'd been standing in the doorway.
"Send him across," they insisted.
"Send Nataku," Heero demanded, grabbing the second in command's arm roughly.
"No deal," a steely voice called as a gun was put to the prisoner's head.
"Alright, alright!" Heero screamed to stop them. He held his hands up in resignation. "Your man first." Leaning close to the man, he growled, "Go, and I can still shoot you if I want."
Duo watched as the second in command made his way down the dirty alleyway toward his fellow gang members. As soon as the man reached there, he turned around with a pistol in hand, shooting in his direction.
"Get down!" Heero growled as he tackled Duo. Duo was shaken badly, unsure of what was going on, who Sister Clarence was, and who the hell this guy was. More gunfire shattered the stillness of the night as bullets sprayed down the alley. They'd temporarily taken cover behind an abandoned car. Duo couldn't see the Sister.
"Heero," he heard a voice yell. Both he and the Heero guy looked behind them, seeing the short dark hair of Sister Clarence briefly over the edge of a high brick wall. How had she made her way up that wall? "This way," she urged.
Heero grabbed Duo by the elbow and shoved him in the direction of the wall across the alley. They scurried while crouching to the other wall. Duo looked up the eight-foot wall. No way he was getting his skinny ass up there. More bullets hit around them. The guys in the south and east alleyways were responding to the shooting, looking to trap the people in the alley. Heero nudged Duo as he put his gun in the back of his pants again. This guy had a habit of doing that, Duo thought.
"Get up," he grunted, holding his hands in a position to boost Duo up the wall. Duo put his foot in the man's hands and felt himself being thrust upwards. He caught a small ledge six feet up the wall and turned around to help Heero get up. No need. Heero's big hands grabbed the edge of the ledge, and he used his extreme upper-body strength to pull himself up. Duo jumped very ungracefully down the other side of the wall, and Heero landed like a cat. The guy ignored the glare Duo gave him.
"Come on," Sister Clarence urged, grabbing Duo's arm and pulling him in the direction Heero had taken off in.
He didn't remember the trip to this apartment. He only remembered running and ending up here, untying his boots as he walked in the doorway. Sister Clarence had slipped out of her shoes easily when she entered the apartment and the Heero guy was currently untying his own boots. Duo glanced around. The apartment was nice, with wooden floors and an open den that separated from the kitchen by a bar counter.
"What will Trowa think about Wufei?" the Sister asked. Duo had to find out her real name. She was obviously not a true nun.
"How the hell should I know?!" Heero yelled, turning around to glare at the former-nun. "I walked into this room at the same time you did, Hilde. Why would I know what Trowa or anyone thinks says without having the time to ask first!?"
The former-nun, now known as Hilde, pouted a little and put her hands on her hips, looking hurt. "Are you mad at me, Heero?"
The guy softened his gaze. "No, Hilde, I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at me. I'm not even mad at Wufei. I'm just mad in general." Hilde breathed a little easier. "Now go get dressed. You look ridiculous as a nun."
"Ha!" the girl Hilde said as she walked around a corner and out of sight. Duo could still hear her bantering Heero from what Duo supposed was her room. "Next time I'm going to make you dress up as the nun!"
Heero grunted and sat down in front of the computer on the bar counter, typing with one hand while he unbuttoned his nondescript dark shirt and tossed it aside to the floor. Duo watched for a moment as he worked. He looked around the apartment. He looked the way Hilde had disappeared. He had obviously gotten into something way over his head. With a sigh of confusion, Duo turned around to head out.
"By the way," the gruff voice said without looking up from the computer. "Thanks for your help tonight." Heero turned around and looked at Duo.
He stood for a moment, unsure. He really hadn't helped a whole lot, he thought. "No problem," he said finally, regaining his happy-go-lucky attitude. "I'll catch you guys later."
"That's the second time you've helped her," Heero stated, referring to when she'd been attacked. "That kind of help is not taken lightly. You should stay."
Duo paused for a moment. He wanted to stay. He wanted to see Hilde. But this whole revelation of her not being a nun was overwhelming to Duo. Besides, these two "partners" might be more than partners. Who knew?
"No," he answered, finally. "I should be going."
"It's dangerous for you now."
Duo stalled at that statement, walking back over to the growling one. "What do you mean?"
"Those men aren't who you think they are. And you've been seen with us. It isn't safe for you to leave," Hilde answered as she reemerged into the den. She was wearing a tank top and loose fitting jeans that hung low on her hips, exposing a tiny ring of midriff. Quite different than the way Duo was used to seeing her, that's for sure. He couldn't get his mouth to close from where it'd dropped on the floor.
"Trowa and Catherine are on their way. They'll be here to assist by tomorrow night," Heero announced, still clicking away on the laptop. "What did you find at the church?"
Hilde sighed and flopped onto the big couch in the den. She reached up and grabbed a hold of Duo's arm as she sat, dragging him down on the couch with her. "I found out that you were right about the poor girl who escaped. She's been hiding in that church for weeks, it seems. And she told me that while she was prisoner with those pets, she overheard something about the Elders of the Triad are searching for a Pureblood, or something like that, to fulfill some prophecy."
"That's pretty general shit, Hilde."
"I can't help it. The girl was twelve and just escaped from the clutches of vampire pets. She was so scared she couldn't even sleep during the day," Hilde pouted.
And now Duo was really getting confused. Were these people actually talking about vampires? He decided to clear things up.
"Vampire pets?" he asked, speaking lowly to Hilde.
She nodded. "Humans that want to be vampires, so they do whatever their master vampire wants. It's pathetic really. That was a gang of them that we ran across in the alleyway."
"They didn't recognize you with the nun outfit on," Heero said from where he was sitting.
"Sure didn't. Which was the point, if you'll remember…"
"I remember, I remember," Heero sighed, still typing on his laptop.
Duo decided to interrupt. "So, vampires are real?" he asked. His world had been thrown upside down in the last hour, so right now he was about willing to believe anything.
"You bet," Hilde said with a flash of a smile. "Heero and his comrades from the war, Trowa and Wufei, are part of a vampire hunting group. Me too, and Trowa's sister Cathy. We move around a lot, searching for and hunting down large vamp clans. There just happens to be one here in Chicago."
Heero stood up and threw the laptop across the room. It smashed against the spotless white wall, leaving a dent and scraped off paint where the computer struck. "They got Wufei. Fucking Triad got Wufei," he hissed, sitting back down on a chair.
"Poor Cathy," Hilde muttered. "She'll be heart-broken."
"Triad, as in the Chinese mafia?" Duo asked.
"No, that's the name of the group of eldest vampires. They call themselves the Triad because there are three of them. And they are each over five hundred years old. The Elders work together loosely and have a lot of power due to their age. They control most of the vampire clans," Hilde explained, keeping her voice down so as not to anger Heero any more.
Heero stood up swiftly again, and Duo jumped at the sudden movement. "Hilde, get the kid a sword or something would you? I don't want him out there with us if he's unprotected." Heero stalked off, disappearing around the doorway to the kitchen and down the hall to the bedrooms.
"Out there with you?" Duo repeated.
Hilde was beaming. She jumped up from her seat and sat in Duo's lap facing him. "This is great! Heero's let you in the group, Duo! Isn't it great?"
"I'm a vampire hunter now?" Duo asked, his voice shaking a little. "But I don't know anything about…"
"Oh don't worry, no one ever knows what's going on at first. But Heero'll teach you. He'll teach you how to use a sword and how to track them and how to strike to kill them right off…" Hilde's excitement waned for a minute as she stared into Duo's eyes. He felt his legs grow weak, and he was extremely grateful for the fact that he was sitting on a couch. And having the object of his affection on his lap was deserving of gratitude as well.
She leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Will you stay with us, Duo?" she asked after she pulled away, whispering softly into his ear.
Duo contemplated a moment. One option was to forget the existence of vampires, vampire hunters, Hilde, and go back to being a whore on the streets of Chicago and hoping he had enough money to buy food for the next day. The other option was to get thrown head first in an adventure with vampires, vampire hunters, Hilde, and be a part of this group as they traveled around the world and basically saved all of humanity. Tough decision.
Things had happened too much too fast, but Duo wasn't a complete moron.
"I will definitely stay."