Chapter 21
Duo looked up groggily from his position on a cold stone floor. Shaking his head to try to clear the headache, he groaned when a wave of nausea overcame him.
"Ah, I see you're awake young man." stated a cold voice and Duo heard shifting behind him.
"No, I'm not awake." Duo answered coldly, still on the floor, "kill me now, you coward or do you want to wait until I really am awake to face me?" he grumbled at the shadow that appeared from behind him,"Because if you wait, then you'll lose. "
"Now dear boy, why ever would you think I'm a coward? And how did you come to the assumption that I wanted to kill you?" came the voice again. Duo knew it was a male and he muttered curses at him under his breath.
"Well, when you get electrocuted by two new kinds of MS, then thrown into a cell, a cold prison-like cell, and as soon as you wake up a menacing baka comes in and pretends to be all nice when underneath he's really just a sinister kuso yaro," Duo said as he pushed himself up to a kneeling position and tried to recover his wits, still facing away from the man, "I know I'm not in here for tea."
"I see you still have a sense of humor about you. What, may I ask, is your name?"
"Mou, a polite murderer. Seems like there's a lot of Trieze-like enemies around these days." he grumbled and slowly pushed himself to his feet, "It's too bad Trieze went and got himself killed, you could take a couple lessons from him. As for my name, you can call me Shinigami."
"Oh, the God of Death now, are we? Seems like you have a very high opinion of yourself." Duo stiffened at this. "Obviously vain as well, my, you do think highly of yourself. With that long braid of yours I'm surprised you actually have enough time to pilot your Gundam between trips to the mirror to see if your hair's all right. I think it would be much more suited to you at, oh, I'd say shoulder length."
Duo uttered a low growl in his throat, no one messed with his braid. This kisama, he'll pay dearly. He has no idea what he's getting himself into if he touches my braid.
Nuiava chuckled at the reaction he got from the boy. "Please, let's forgo this immaturity and have a civil conversation. Your name?"
Civil?! Kami-sama, we're in a dungeon cell! He thought exasperatedly but sighed and gave into the man, "Duo, Duo Maxwell." he grumbled.
"Ah, I'm known as Nuiava Shitaihoshi." the man said coolly and Duo heard him shifting again.
Why is that name so familiar? Shitaihoshi...I can't think why I recognize it, he thought for a minute, oh well, it'll come to me. He shrugged and kept his back to the man.
"Well then, are you comfortable? Would you like anything to eat, a beverage maybe?" suggested Nuiava.
"What? Why the hell would I want one of those? And no, I'm not comfortable. My head hurts like hell, my hair's gone frizzy from your little electric toys, this cell's cold, you've kidnapped me, and—" Duo ranted, but stopped before he said the last word. That would make him think I'm weak, I can't do that. he thought frustratedly, Oh god, now I sound like Wu-man. Duo Maxwell, pull it together!!!
"And...? I believe you left that sentence unfinished." Nuiava Shitaihoshi coolly motioned for the two outside guards to come in.
"Great, you sound like my old teacher." Duo grumbled.
"Oh, come now. You're being difficult when all I'm trying to do is make this as pleasant as possible for you."
"Pleasant?!?" Duo roared, "Nande kuso, this is supposed to be pleasant?!?!?!?"
Nuiava shook his head and a look of mild annoyance at the braided boy flashed across his face. "If we're done with this obviously useless conversation I'd like you to please follow me." Nuiava turned and started to walk smoothly out the cell door.
"I don't think so!!!" Duo yelled and turned around, preparing to land a kick to the man's side.
Nuiava quickly dodged, anticipating this, and one of the two guards grabbed Duo while the other one readied a needle and injected it into the struggling pilots arm.
"Tsk tsk, Duo. You'd think you'd be nicer to someone in control of your life." Nuiava hissed, pulling Duo's head back by the braid so the shadows were off his face. "Now I'll just have to move to plan B since you're being uncooperative." He said coldly and forced Duo to look him in the eyes before the drug took effect.
Duo avoided the man's gaze as much as possible and berated himself for not noticing the two other guards. He felt the drug they had given him start to work it's way through his blood stream, he was fighting to stay awake when another sharp tug on his braid made him meet Nuiava's eyes. His cold blue eyes that reminded him of someone, though her eyes were gentler and had a spark of mischief and determination in them, but they were accompanied by love.
"You'll be our bait. Your Gundam has a part in this too." Nuiava's voice echoed through his groggy mind as a realization hit him and woke him up briefly from his drug-induced reverie.
"Reena!!!" what all he could gasp before he plunged into the pitch black darkness of a fake and uncomfortable sleep plagued with bad dreams he thought he had long forgotten, but these dreams starred a new face. The face of the girl he loved, and he wasn't going to let the only thing in this world that cared about him get killed. Not even if he himself had to be killed to save her.
