The Hamlet of Gundam Wing - everyone dies
Duo could recall everything in that moment. He saw things in greater detail than ever before, he heard everything; his heart, Wufei's heart, their breathing - his jagged, the other's calm. He felt all of his memories at once, especially those with Wufei, with Heero. He could feel every detail in the object he was holding, the long piece of black leather wrapped around the handle of Wufei's katana, used and worn smoothly. He, Duo Maxwell, was holding one Chang Wufei's sword and not only was the other boy not minding, he was kneeling on the ground, waiting for Duo to chop his head off.
Heero was dead. It was no accident that he was killed, but there was a lot of remorse. Three months ago, there had been a battle, with MD. Somehow, in the confusion of the battle Wufei and Heero… both got very badly injured. As they both lay, Heero knew he was dying, and asked Wufei to kill him, to save him all the pain of good-byes, and the agony of dying itself. Wufei did so. Everyone knew he was dying, but still… being killed like that, in the traditional Japanese way, suicide. In the three months that followed Wufei and Duo both seemed like ghosts, pale, weak, and withdrawn.
Exactly three months after, Wufei had grabbed his katana and walked slowly to Duo's room. Trowa and Quatre watched silently, not interfering, all knowing. Duo had been caught off guard; Wufei had come in, got on his knees, bowed his head, and asked Duo to kill him.
"…Wufei… I don't… understand…" Wufei didn't look up.
"You were his best friend, right? I took his life, now I'm asking you to take mine." Duo dropped the sword and backed away.
"No! Wufei, you've been forgiven! No more killing has to be done!" Wufei snorted, than picked up his katana.
"If you don't kill me I'll commit sepukku." Duo shook his head, trying to clear his head, glistening tears being shed unshamefully.
"You can't do that! You're not Japanese, you're Chinese! Don't! No, Wufei… You don't have to do this…" Wufei chuckled, something inappropriate for the situation.
"Baka. He loved you, you know. He told me to tell you that before he - I killed him." Duo clutched his temples, trying to calm his hysteria. "Doesn't that make you mad? Doesn't your blood burn with anger? He loved you! You loved him-"
"I still love him," Duo growled. "Why… Didn't you tell me this before?" Wufei laughed again, still not raising his head.
"I was preparing for my death."
"K'so!" Duo leaped forward, his violet eyes flashing like the supernatural. He went over to Wufei, grabbed the katana and knocked him unconscious. "Why'd I do that? Because you know you won't kill him like this. I would have killed him… only one thing to do…" Duo looked sadly at the clean edge of the blade, knowing that soon, there would be red decorating it, and it would probably come from him. "No! I will not die… Heero! I have to live for Heero!" Duo panicked. Wufei was waking up, they both knew that one would die today.
Duo's mind cleared abruptly. There was only one choice, one choice and three Gundam pilots. Only three of the five… He walked over to where Wufei was waking and grabbed the katana. Placing the point directly over his heart, he waited.
Wufei finally woke up, shaking his head to get rid of the foggy mist clouding it. He opened blurry eyes and found Duo, with his katana, ready to kill himself.
"Wufei, I've figured it out. I join Heero as the Shinagami and you stay on earth. I normally wouldn't kill myself like this - I've been through way too much for that, but if I don't kill myself, things will happen, and I don't really want to be around for that. So, goodbye, 'Fei." Wufei watched Duo with shock. This wasn't supposed to happen.
Duo drove the blade deep into his chest, the point almost making it through the other side. His lifeblood seeped out, the river becoming a stream, finally a trickle. The eerie smile never left his face as he collapsed forward, and his eyes glowed immortally. "No… More…. Pain….." And Duo Maxwell, the Shinagami, died, at the simple age of sixteen.
Wufei pulled the bloodstained sword out of Duo's chest, and smiled softly. "Duo no baka. I'm going to die anyway…" Wufei held the katana to his neck, then pulled it across before he could rethink. A cut, a second mouth, opened, and through it the thick red liquid poured, draining his energy, his life. He collapsed just as Quatre looked in, and saw the two of them, dead.
He called down to Trowa. "Trowa! It's time." Trowa walked slowly, delaying their decision.
"Quatre!" The blond didn't answer. "Koi." Quatre turned than, bright blue eyes darkened and shimmering with unshed tears. "I love you, Quatre. There so many things left unsaid…" The pilot of Sandrock gave a sad, bitter smile.
"I know. When we have eternity I shall tell you, love. That will be soon." The two gazed at each other, than got to work. Quatre started a fire, while Trowa poured gasoline around the room.
Finally Trowa sat in the middle of the floor, and Quatre, taking one last look around, sat in front of him, taking the sword into his hands. Trowa lit a single match, and dropped it onto the slippery trail of gasoline. It immediately sparked, than grew to a blaze. Quatre drew the sword and drove it through Trowas back into his own chest. With his final breath he looked at Trowa, dead, and smiled sadly and painfully. Flame was the last thing he saw, and the only thing he was ever going to see again.
Firefighters rushed around the burning building, trying to quench the flames before they spread. This house, of course, was a lost cause. They had been unable to tell weather or not there were people inside the building. Away from the house, in a darkened shadow unlit by the leaping flames, a dark figure appeared. It shook its head once, than stepped forward into the light. The bright fire fell upon his dark brown hair, and the white-hot light forced him to cover his blue eyes. He walked up to a firefighter.
"What happened here?" The man looked at the boy, than grimaced.
"The fire was started from inside the house. Do you happen to know who lives here, kid?" He shook his head slowly, unbelieving. The boy ignored his question.
"I fell asleep for a while. When I woke up, I was in a hospital. I came here to find my friends…" The firefighter smiled slowly and sadly.
"What's your name, kid?" The boy stared unblinkingly ahead, at the raging fire.
"Heero. Heero Yuy."
Finis