Duo's Rose
Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing would I be writing fics? Um...NO I don't think so.
Life is a fickle thing for everyone. Some people get it easy,
others, not so easy. Yet we can never forget things that have past, and we can't
stop worrying about what is to come. Maybe that's why many people never
truly live. Regret and fear hold us back during the present moment. This is
the story of my life. I had everything in the world, and it slipped through
my fingers uncontrollably, to be lost forever in a deep abyss. This event had
claimed my life, and I thought I could never get a handle of it again. Yet life
throws a lot of curveballs that can be dealt with and over come. If it's
not good, then it's not the end.
I had always envied those who had forgotten their once clueless and blissful
lives. Childhood was an unforgettable, and painful experience. All of those
that would have been close to me, my parents, Solo, Father Maxwell, Sister Helen,
gone. Disappeared from this bleak drab of a world, and from my pitiful life,
more quickly then they had entered it. That was my curse. Every time someone
became close to me, death would stretch its cold icy hands and snip their lifeline
short with its sharp elongated fingernails. After the incident with the church
causing the deaths of many people, I couldn't help but fear contact with
humanity again. I longed to be with someone, but the terror always lingered
in my aching mind. Figuring there was not much left for me, I became a soldier.
No soul was attached to me, and I couldn't bear the thought of others
going through the same turmoil. What better way to throw off my fear of death
and abandonment, than to become the God of Death, Shinigami himself? So that's
what I did. The grim reaper was always a feared creature, but it never seemed
to be alone. Death was always knocking at someone's door, and he had never
been turned away. I hated death, but I caused it. There was no other choice
for me. It was either kill or be killed, so I did what I had to. I had marred
my soul forever so that others would never have to.
As time went on, I discovered four other boy soldiers who had somehow been mingled
in with my main objective. I found it difficult to believe that others would
put themselves through the same fate I chose. Heero never had much of a choice
as a boy. Trowa was in a similar situation. Both had no family that they were
aware of, no name, and all they knew from childhood was battle. Quatre I found
hard understand. He had a large family, money, and his entire life set right
before his eyes. His gentle nature gave the impression that fighting was that
last thing he would resort to, but it was the same kindness and caring that
drove him to the battlefield. Like myself, he thought it better himself to be
going into war than someone else. Wu Fei was a difficult person to get to know,
but he came around eventually. The reason he became a gundam pilot was to exact
the "justice" he was constantly craving. His family, home and wife
were taken because of someone else's fight. I couldn't help but
feel drawn to all of them. It was very difficult to become their friend, but
I decided I would have to give it a try, at least. We were all so different
at first glance, but with a little more time and consideration, there was a
lot in common between us five.
As pilots, we fought on for what seemed to be an eternity. Battles were lost
and won, and missions just kept coming. However, one singular mission vividly
stands in my mind, an event that had been marked in my memory forever. A gundam
pilot had been captured? It couldn't be. With that same old fear burning
within the depths of my soul, I ran for Deathscythe and left for the site immediately.
I couldn't bear the thought of my curse returning to my side once again.
Without delay, I made for the OZ base where I thought one of my friends to be
held captive. All I can remember from when I sprinted across the corridors of
the enemy base was a blazing sharp pain that cut right through my entire being.
The next thing I knew, I had resided unwillingly into a new prison.
With no more than a couple hours passing by, the rest of my fellow pilots had
joined me in the foul darkness of our dungeon. It was here that I met her. Duet,
the most beautiful creature that God could have ever created, lay beaten, bruised
and bloody on the solid cement flooring. She was always feisty, even when it
seemed like her number was up. When she awoke to find the five of us surrounding
her, she did everything in her power to protect herself and ward us off, thinking
we were OZ soldiers. Once the commotion in our cellar had come to a calm, we
explained our situation to her and made our getaway taking her with us.
Time went on, and the two of us had grown closer together. There were many things
her and I shared that the others could never understand. She had even been at
the Maxwell church. Her long, luxurious chestnut braid was always neat and each
strand of soft silk was tucked tightly into a large rope of hair. I could never
get enough of her eyes. A deep, entrancing, blue peer would penetrate my skin
now and then, sending rapturous chills up my spine. While we were together,
nothing could take us apart. My curse had vanished and for the first time in
my life I had actually lived, all because of love. Nevertheless, our happy ending
would be too easy of a fate for God's liking.
We were still soldiers in an infinite battle. Missions were still demanding
our attention, and killing opponents occupied many an hour. What seemed like
a routine trip for the common soldier, turned into a chaos, which, to this day,
brings forth heartbreaking tears that still burn along side my scarred face.
An attack was charged aggressively against us, and being outnumbered and tired,
the thought of death was upon my mind. I knew one of us would never make it
out of that battle, so I chose to let that person be me. Knowing that I had
the friendship and love of those five teenagers was more then I could have ever
hoped for in life. I finally felt complete, and it was all thanks to them.
As I bounded towards the opposition awaiting my final blow, something I least
expected occurred. That blow never hit me. I never felt the numbing pain I expected.
Instead, when I looked, scared and shocked at my monitor, I only saw her. Duet's
face was twisted with a pain that hurt me more than death would have. Her lavish
hair, for the first time, was tangled in disorder. With blood stained locks
flowing around her face, those hypnotic eyes leered right into mine and, with
a final effort, a small smile crossed her heavenly face for the last time. Through
teary eyes I watched as the screen faded into nothingness along with her soul.
It was all I could have done.
The next 15 or so years were all a blur. The war we had hated so much had come
to an end, and the gundams were destroyed. Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wu Fei, and
I, all stayed friends after the tireless fighting. Yet all the scars from battle
still remained, and would always remind me of the only person I ever loved.
The only thing that would go through my head was Duet and that last, fatal smile
that took her soul fluttering to heaven, and plunged mine to the epitome of
hell. The guys knew I was still very sensitive on the topic, so they would always
give me my space. An ordinary day that seemed like a millennia after the horrid
incident, turned out to be another one of those unforgettable moments of life.
An explainable event took place that changed my life.
While I sat, tear stricken in my room, the same illustrious chill that Duet's
blue eyes gave me ran achingly up my back. I turned around, in fear someone
had seen the slight shiver, but was relieved to find the room empty and the
door closed as it was before. My mind kept trailing back to that chill and it's
cause, but as I thought of her, the tears tore more rapidly down my cheeks leaving
an unpleasant salty taste on my lips. Re-opening my eyes after a final piercing
sob, I looked at the wall hollowly. It was then that I saw an unmistakable figure
zigzagging across the wall. The slim physique and the sly movements were none
other than Duet's. Curiosity claimed me, and I couldn't take my
eyes off of the shadow. I watched as it drew closer to my resting spot. Then,
like a ray of sunshine striking a depressed face, I could feel warmth surround
my body. My eyes drifted from the wall and shut gently. I couldn't open
them, no matter how much I wanted to, it was no longer in my control. The supple
feel of two slender arms wrapped around my chest and pulled me in. The next
few moments felt like I was resting on air. With my eyes closed, I just imagined
her face as it always was when she hugged me. Then, when I finally felt like
I was at peace once again, the feeling left me in an instant.
I regained control over my eyelids and slowly opened them. My line of vision
magnetically went back to the wall where the shadow had danced. While staring
into the emptiness, out of the corner of my eye, attention was brought to my
desk. As I turned my head slightly to the left, I noticed my favorite flower
lying beside my unplugged laptop. When I stood up to take a look, what I observed
was a rose, but it was old, hard, and black, like it had been dead for a hundred
years. Carefully lifting it, so not to shatter the dried petals, I removed a
note that was sitting below it. As I unfolded the paper, all I saw was one line.
"I live to die, and I die to live forever." I tried to resist giving
a faint smile, but it was hopeless. An upward twitch graced my gloomy face for
the first time in months. The handwriting was Duet's and I knew it well.
From that moment on, I felt a sudden hope spark inside of me. I knew Duet was
still out there, and that God hadn't abandoned Shinigami just yet. No
longer did I yearn for the same fate as my angel, but I wanted to live.
As soon as I had dressed properly, I stuffed my pocketknife into my jacket and
ran out of the door with light feet and headed for the nearest flower shop.
I bought a dozen long stem roses that were enclosed in a glass container. I
headed for the cemetery and walked an all too familiar route. Without thinking,
my feet lead my to a singular grave.
Duet Maxine
R.I.P
To the hero and the lover
Who can never be forgotten
I placed the roses at the foot of the grave, and, kneeling down, I pulled out
the knife and carved her last phrase into the stone slab. Pulling myself to
my feet, I simply turned and walked away, knowing that she would be living in
peace now.
Life went on for me. I never met anyone else, never had a wife or children.
I had my best friends though. We were one big family. Our little band of brothers
I guess you could say. They all grew up and had kids of course. So I became
and uncle and that was good enough for me. The miraculous thing about it all,
was that the rose, once dead and black, began to color slowly as time went on.
The note is still with the rose in the same glass container that I bought on
that epiphany of a day.
With that said, Duo Maxwell smiled his usual grin, and bowed his
head silently as the bleeping of a heart monitor slowed until a steady flat
note was heard. Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Wu Fei, stood over their long time
friend with watering eyes. Heero was the first to raise his head, followed by
Wu Fei, Trowa and then Quatre. Pride was seen in their glassy eyes. The four
of them all looked over to the rose, not knowing that part of the story, and
were astonished to see it a vibrant red flower in full bloom. Heero's
granddaughter went over to the table by Duo's bedside and picked up the
glass box. After saying goodbye, the gathered families turned with smiles on
their faces and walked out of the room, knowing that Duo would finally be living
another life with his angel, Duet.
~Owari~
The meeting of Duet and the pilots is from Tori Yuki Ichimura's fic called Endless
Tango: It Takes Two To Tango
Review
Written by one of Shinigami's infamous Angels