Chapter Four

"Heero?" Duo asked, peeking his head into the living room. He blinked in confusion when the teen was nowhere to be found.

"Heero?" he checked the kitchen before hurrying outside and leaping around his junk piles, searching for the lost brunette.

'Where could he have gone?' Duo fretted and slid down one pile till his feet met the ground and he took off through the open gate.
– – – –

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Hold on, I'm coming! I'm coming!" Sally opened her door to a slightly distraught looking Duo.

Duo had dressed in slack jeans and a black t-shirt. He was breathing heavy from running the whole way and jumping around his 'junk'.

"Duo? What's wrong?.. It's early." she raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Have you seen a guy about so high.." his hand flew to just above his own head. "..short hair.." he pulled his braid up out of view. "..cobalt blue eyes, kinda dark and cold but not really? Cause you know, he's not really mean, he just looks like it. And I figured he may have come here since you live next door to your bakery and he hasn't had breakfast so he must be hungry and.. He can't go on without breakfast, who could? I can't find him, Sally! You gotta help me!" Duo finished, very fast and relieving himself of more air.

Sally stared at him for a minute more, unsure if she understood most of it. Then she blinked a few times, follow by Duo jumping in place.

"Did you drink coffee this morning?" Sally asked. Duo shook his head. "Chocolate?" again Duo shook his head. "Suga..."

"Sally I really don't have time for this!" Duo sighed exasperatedly. "I lost my friend and since he obviously isn't here, I need to get going. I'll just see you later, alright? Bye!" Duo tried to hurry off but Sally caught a hold of his pony tail, catching him like a puppy on a leash.

"Friend? You got, and lost, a friend between when you left last night and this morning?" she asked. Duo turned his head over his shoulder, chewing on his shirt with anime tears running from chibi eyes and nodding a lot.

"Come on.. Wait inside while I change clothes and then I'll help you look." she knew she could argue that this friend was just a dream, but there was no arguing with that face.

– – –

Cobalt blue eyes closed and he brought his cape up over himself to block out the light. His back was to a chimney on the roof of a house, out of the eyes of people. His cloak was covering his entire body, hiding him from the sun. After living in a dark room for most of his life, it was too bright...

He vaguely remembered reading about a creature called a 'vampire' that couldn't live in the light. Heero supposed he was some sort of vampire, because he couldn't live with that light...A light he called his abnormality.

Heero reached into one of his pockets, his arms being inside of his new den as well, and pulled out a mask. It had been on a table next to Duo's bed.

"Do not expect me to feel for you."

He closed his eyes and let the familiar darkness overtake him, listening to the sounds of everyday life outside of his cloak den.

– – –

"Duo, we've search all of downtown." Sally sighed. If this friend had really run away, he could be anywhere.

"Fine. Then we'll try uptown.. and then the roofs. He'd probably be inside or somewhere dark.. Okay so maybe not the roofs..." Duo paused. Sally stopped quickly so she didn't run into the teen.

"What? What is it?" she asked. Duo turned to her but instead of the simple childish, worried eyes she seen all day.. she saw the malicious, devious eyes of the Shinigami she'd only met once before.

"I'm baaack." he smiled.

"What?" Sally took a step back. The air he was giving off was like standing too close to a murderer.. which he was but lets not get technical.

"Didn't you hear? Just now. Someone's looking for me. I've got a job tonight." GoD smirked, happy. Sally glared, about ready to slap him. Suddenly the eyes went back to normal and Duo looked around, confused.

"So... what are we standing around for?" Duo asked, looking up at her impatiently. Sally stopped glaring and sighed. This was stressful.

"Duo, have you heard from that shinigami lately?" she asked as they hurried along again.

"No. Actually, I havent heard from him since I was shot."Duo looked down an alleyway.

"Hm.." Sally nodded. "Be careful tonight.. alright?"
Duo stopped and looked at her. Be careful? If the shinigami was gone, wasn't that good? He wasn't going to take anymore jobs anyway. He was done with this career. However, Sally's face was serious and he smiled, nodding.

"Alright."

– – –

Duo said goodbye to Sally and entered his house. With him, he carried the dark purple mask he'd made yesterday when he was stuck at Sally's. He wanted black but Sally didn't have any black and refused to go buy some just for him. He went to set the mask by his clothing when he noticed the other one was gone.

'Heero?' he wondered.

'Oh shut up.' he heard back before he fell conscious. GoD smirked at his new power of control and changed quickly. He felt he needed to make up for his lost night.
– – –

The sun set slowly, the stars blinking brightly in the sky. Two arms shot into the sleeves of a cloak and then it fell open to hang as it usually would around the slim form of the Perfect Soldier.

'Tonight Dr. J. Tonight you die.' he clenched his hands into fists and stood, scanning the area.

It wouldn't be hard to reach Dr. J's abode. He could kill the man before anyone realized what had happened. After that...

"After that I won't have to kill anyone ever again." he said resolutely.

Just before he started towards Dr. J's, a shadow on the buildings across the street from him caught his eye and he turned, eyes flashing. The God of Death...

"Duo." he whispered to the softly to the wind, taking off in that direction instead.

He landed on the ground and was about to take off for the roofs across the street when he stopped.

'Why do I care? He's doing what theives do. I shouldn't care about him! he yelled at himself.

Voice caught his attention and he darted into a nearby alley to hide as they passed.

"We'd best hurry, or the boss's plan is going to fail." he heard one say before he was off in his own world again.

'I have my own job to do. I need to kill Dr. J and everyone else in that facility.

"Yea, and after this, we'll be rich from the price on this guy's head." the second of three said in a joyful whisper.

'I'll see Duo tomorrow night anyway...Wait, I will?' he blinked in confusion. 'Yes...Yes I will...I still need to find out what is so different about him. What the secret is behind the God of Death, the-'

"Stop talking so animatedly about the boss's plan to capture and turn in the Shinigami." the third, more dangerous looking one warned.

Heero's eyes widened and he dashed out in front of the three, slicing the throats of the first two and pinning the third to the wall. The goon gasped.

"Say that again." Heero's eyes were dangerous, and the only part of him that the goon could see in this lighting.

"Sh-shinigami...The God of Death. Our boss...he called out the thief and is going to capture him to sell to the officers. Please...be merciful." and the once intimidating man was reduced to begging for his life.

Heero's eyes flashed again and he slit that man's throat too. Nearly painless deaths. Heero took a mask out of his pocket and put it on before he took off the way the God of Death had earlier.
– – –

Unlike a usual day, GoD didn't feel like using a hologram. In fact, he'd left all of Duo's stupid machines at the house. Duo had fallen in love with the enemy and he wouldn't forgive him.

"Good evening." his new employer greeted when he dropped from the ceiling. "So you're the God of Death?" he asked, skeptical.

"There is only one." GoD replied, kneeling on the ground. He thought he heard something but he wasn't quite sure what or where it was.

"Good. Then you'll excuse me for skipping the formalities and your normal speech, wont you?" the fat man in charge chuckled. GoD glared up through his mask and his eyes shifted slightly. He didn't like this. Something was wrong.

Strangely, it wasn't his own mind telling him this. Had Duo broken through?

The fat man snapped his fingers and the floor beneath GoD shattered, falling away. Below was a net that would save him just before he landed in the crocodile waters. However, GoD wasn't one to be messed with.

He easily leapt out of the way as soon as the floor fell. However, taking the time to look back gave the opportunity to release more traps. He rolled out of the way of throwing knives and jumped to his feet.
Men appeared in front of him and he glared, turning and running the other way. He skidded to a halt when more floor fell, cutting him off from running. He smirked and went to jump across the holes when a net caught him in mid-air.

He growled as the net hung above the water but high enough so everyone could see him struggle to get out.

"Ha ha ha. Struggle all you want, but those are wire ropes. All you're doing is hurting yourself." the man leaned back in his chair to watch.

GoD let out a growl like a caged wild cat and changed his strategy to trying to get at the man in his seat, looking so smug. He gasped as he watched his arm hit the wire hard. He hadn't even felt it..

Blood dripped from his new wound and fell down, farther and farther until it hit the water. For once in his life, the shinigami was scared. Not for himself, which really surprised him, but for Duo.

He took the time to turn and notice the cuts he'd made by trying to escape.. and the few scars he'd given the boy through the years. A sudden rage gripped him and he snarled, turning back to the man.

"You sick bastard." the man had no idea why he was being called such, but he was slowly killing an innocent young man.

The fat man smirked before he motioned to the net and it was electrocuted just enough to knock out it's prisoner.

– – –

Heero landed on the ground inside the building and looked around. It was foreboding.

"You sick bastard!" he turned his head and saw Duo hanging in mid-air above a hole in a net, unconscious after a jolt of electricity ran through it.

His eyes dilated. A wire net. Duo had many cuts and Heero could now see previous wounds through the holes created in the outfit he wore. The man in the seat was Vicktor Degraun. Dr. J found him of little value. Heero glanced around the room.

6 men were hidden in the shadows, 2 in plain sight near Duo's prison, and then there was Vicktor. Was Vicktor short on men or was this another trap? It didn't matter, Heero skirted the edge of the room and took out the men in hiding without them making a noise.

"I'd suggest you let him go. If you have any desire to live." Heero's voice echoed in the room and those in it paused.

"Who's that? Who are you?" Vicktor Sir Fat growled out in fear, masked as anger. "Go find him!"

The two men ran into the shadows to find Heero and they found him. He smirked at them before they were dead with not much more than a grunt.

"I don't repeat myself Sir Degraun." he said calmly. "You've lost your only chance at life. And if I don't kill you...I'm sure the Shinigami you have caged will have no quarrels in doing it himself."

"Come out and show yourself!" the fast man growled and GoD...well, he was out cold.

Heero stepped hard enough that his steps were heard and hid his dagger in his cloak as he came into view.

– – – – – –