Just doing some rewriting.

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Shinigami Chapter 1: Breaking the Rules

Duo and Heero gazed out the window at the two little boys playing in their front yard. Duo smiled as the serious looking one whapped the other upside the head lightly. He smirked as the other fell to his back on the grass laughing.

Heero tilted his head curiously. He wondered if he and Duo would have been like that had they met at that age. He glanced sideways at Duo and smiled gently at the happy twinkling in his lover's eyes.

Duo turned away and sighed.

Heero blinked. "You ok, Duo?"

Duo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just thinking, I guess," he replied.

Heero turned back to the window as the two little boys chased each other back to the other side of the street. He smiled. They couldn't have been more than eight years old, but they were best friends. Heero and Duo had been watching them for a while; since Heero had gotten back, which had been about a year ago.

Duo put an arm around Heero's shoulders and his eyes flashed silvery-violet. Heero looked at him and grinned. Duo kissed him lightly and led him back away from the window.

Right before they reached the bottom of the stairs, a loud crack reached their ears and a huge plume of thick, black smoke seemed to crash to the floor before them. Heero leaped backwards while Duo stumbled back as well.

As the smoke spread and eventually disappeared, the figure of a cloaked something became slowly visible. The figure waved its arm and the smoke vanished.

The figure was a cloaked person whose hood was pulled down far enough to only allow its mouth to be seen, the rest of its face was in shadows. The person - a man - was frowning. "This smoke can get really old, really fast..." he said and coughed.

Heero and Duo watched intently while the man folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head at them. They could see his eyes gleaming, but nothing else in the shadow. The man sighed and pointed to Heero. "You are Heero, right?"

Duo stepped in front of Heero, glaring at the man suspiciously. "Who wants to know?" he inquired.

The man smirked, revealing a fang. "I thought so. He will be coming with me." He stepped forward, receiving a warning growl from Duo. He stopped and sighed. "You're going to make this difficult..." He tilted his head again, as though thinking, and sighed. "Hehas to come with me."

"Why?" Duo snapped, scowling.

The visitor crossed his arms and leaned on one foot. "Orders. Besides, rules are rules, and he broke the rules."

Duo rolled his eyes impatiently. "What rules are you talking about? And who ordered you to come take him?" he demanded.

The man grinned. "The orders come from no one. But as for the rules... Well, neither of you would know of them."

"Then why aren't you explaining them?" Duo cried, his self control slipping away gradually. His eyes flashed dangerously.

The man sighed. "He was supposed to come with me the day he died."

"Why didn't you just take him then?" Duo snapped.

He sighed again. "He died in a hospital. The hospital is a free place and those who die there may leave if they so desire, but no one except him-" He motioned to Heero. "-has ever done so." He shook his head. "He had fled before I got to him! Do you have any idea how many people die in one day? A lot, I'll tell you that. And I couldn't exactly get to him right when he died, I had to finish what I was doing."

Duo snarled. "Who are you?"

He grinned and bowed low. "Shinigami!" He straightened up. "Not really at your service!" He chuckled to himself.

Heero tilted his head. That voice sounded so familiar... But he couldn't tell who it sounded like. This man claimed to be Shinigami - The Death God, but he never knew a death god.

Heero turned his gaze to Duo. He was scowling and his eyes burned threateningly. He looked back at the intruder. He could tell that Shinigami was watching him, despite the fact that he couldn't see his eyes. The corners of Shinigami's mouth turned up slightly in a gentle smile. Heero shot him a confused look.

He stepped forward, pushing Duo's protective arm back down to his side. "Why didn't you take Duo when he died, then?" he asked quietly.

Shinigami's eyes flicked to the said boy and he thought for a moment. "That was over a year ago; I don't exactly know." He sighed and shrugged. "I would have if I'd gotten orders to, but I guess I didn't. I could also have come to retrieve him any time I wished since he is confined here."

Heero nodded. "Who gives you orders? You said no one does, but that doesn't make any sense."

Shinigami nodded in understanding. "Yes, I know it's confusing, but I get my orders from... well... Basically I get them from myself. That must be even more confusing since you are not any kind of God." He smirked. "You can't understand where my orders come from, but I work alone, there is no one else to help me. I am the only one."

"How did you become Shinigami?" Heero asked curiously. Duo rolled his eyes and waited impatiently for the two to stop talking.

Shinigami noticed Duo's sudden change of attitude and grinned with amusement. "I never really became Shinigami. It's kind of like a monarchy: When the king dies, his heir takes his place. But I have no parents to speak of, I just... happened." He shrugged. "I have been Shinigami for..." He thought a moment. "For sixty-billion, seven-hundred twenty-three million, eight-hundred ninety-four thousand, and five-hundred eleven years." He grinned immensely. (60,723,894,511)

Duo blinked. Heero quirked an eyebrow. "That long, huh?" Heero sighed and shook his head. He looked back up with a new curiosity. "Where do people go when they die?"

Shinigami crossed his arms. "That depends." He hesitated.

"On what?" Heero asked.

"Me, I decide where they should go." He grinned. "Don't take this the wrong way, though. I'm fair. Besides, they decide where they want to go most. I just send them where they deserve to be, based on their life of course."

Duo sighed exasperatedly. Shinigami looked at him in surprise. He then dropped his head so his chin was almost resting on his chest and fell silent.

After a few moments, he looked up again. "Hm... Well, I really have to go. I'm already way behind schedule." With that, he swayed in his place before he blurred and Heero was gone from Duo's side.

Shinigami stood in his spot again, with one of his arms securely around Heero's shoulders. Heero's eyes were large and blank as he stood there. Duo growled and lunged at them. But Shinigami was quicker. He shot his free hand up into the air and the two vanished in a curtain of smoke.

Duo heard Shinigami's laughter ringing through the house and he whirled around, thrusting his fist into the wall behind him. He cried out in anger, his voice echoing in the empty hallways.

He closed his eyes and sank to the floor next to the wall which now had a faint crack in it. He leaned his head against the wall and just sat there for only a few moments before another crack came from the same spot as before. Duo leaped to his feet and whirled angrily, but stumbled backwards at the bright, white light before him.

He brought his arm up to shield his eyes and he peered into it. Someone sighed as the light faded quickly. Duo brought his arm down and stared, unbelievingly at who stood before him. "Quatre!" he exclaimed.

The blonde boy smiled warmly at his old friend. "Hi Duo."