Mastery and Servitude;
Part Five ~Hunger~
By Lady AngelFiren

Heero followed Duo out of the lab. As soon as they were away from the old building, Duo turned around and grinned at Heero with a cheerful gleam in his eyes.

"I can't believe you're here! I thought you were goneok maybe I should explain this to you, you're probably wondering what the hell is going on-"

Heero interrupted Duo with a swift right hook to the jaw. He turned and walked away from the sputtering boy. The voice in his headthe other him, went ballistic.

~Heero! What did you do!? That was Master Duo! He was so nice to me, how could you hit him like that? Nowwhat if he thinks I'm still herehe'll be sooooo angryoh Heero how could you do that?~

Heero physically felt his Other's fear and pain. His stomach twisted uncomfortably and he had the urge to get down on the earth by Duo and try to apologize, but he steadfastly ignored it. Duo had deserved that for being a bastard to the defenseless personality living in Heero's mind. In fact, Duo deserved a lot more than what he'd done, but the awful wrenching in his gut told Heero that he really couldn't bear to hit Duo again, the other Heero would have some kind of nervous break down or something.

// Are you going to be alright? What can I call you? Calling us both the same thing is confusing.//

~Master Duo called me Heero, before that Master J never called me anything. He just used 'boy'or 'slave.' I guess you're the real Heero, you should keep your own name. I don't even deserve a nameI'm sorry I'm in your head, I would leave if I knew how, I really would! Butuntil then, I will just try to be quiet and stay out of you way.~

// Heero was never my name to begin with. I never had one either. Heero is just my codename. I used to live with a man named Odin, he called me Kenjii.//

~I think of you as Heero. The real Heero. I feel like I stole your name from youmaybe we should go back to Master Duo's apartment so that we can make dinner for him? I'm sure he's had a very long day, we should bathe him later as well.~

// I am not cooking for Maxwell! //

~I could do it. Iif I don't.Duo never hit me, but I'm scared of what will happen if I'm bad, please let me cook him dinner Heero~

// Hn, I need a computer, where are my things? Where's my laptop and my guns?//

~I don't know.~

// We will have to find them or replace them. I suppose my laptop is outdated nowits difficult to imagine that I've been gone for five years, I'll have to get used to this.//

~Can we please go see Master Duo now? He's still where you left him I thinkplease Heero, we can't just leave him there~

// Hn. Fine.//

Heero sighed mentally and turned around, walking back to where Duo stood, motionless. He was just glaring at Heero and holding a hand to the bruise that had already crawled over his jaw.

"Baka. Where do you live?"

"You asshole! You punched me!"

"Yes."

"Why!?"

"I believe we can discuss this later Maxwell. You brought me here, now would you like me to stay with you until I can re-establish myself, or should I just leave now?"

"Heero, don't leave, c'mon, you've been gone for five years, I gotta tell you all about it! I'm sure you're confused, just come back to my apartment with me."

"Fine. Hurry up."

~o0O0o0O0o~

Duo held his cheek and led the way back to his apartment. He was eager to get there and tell Heero the story of how he had been rescued. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to leave out a few details, but the story would be roughly the same. Duo really wanted Heero to stay with him; he knew that he wasn't entirely sane, but neither was Heero. Hopefully they could work something out.

They took the train back to the apartment and Duo led Heero up to his home, keying himself in and holding the door for his fellow ex-pilot. Heero had been looking around, faint surprise etched on his features. Duo finally asked him what was so interesting and great about L2.

"Peace. There are no mobile suits anywhere. No guards. No war."

"Heero, that was five years ago, we've had peace all this time."

"Peaceno hatred or fighting at all?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"Ah."

"That's all you have to say about any of this?"

"For now."

Duo frowned and shut the door behind Heero. He slipped off his shoes and wandered into the kitchen to get himself a soda.

"Ya want something to drink or eat? There isn't much in here, but there's some stuff. Hey, I have Frosted Flakes!" Duo grabbed the three year old box of stale cereal and showed it to Heero with a proud grin. Duo heard Heero mutter 'baka' under his breath and he walked over to the couch and sat down in Duo's spot.

"Hey! Get your ass outta my groove! You can sit anywhere but there pal, that is Duo's ass groove!"

"Hn."

"You know, you haven't changed a bit. You seem to be taking this pretty well for someone who lost five years outta their life, what's the catch?"

Duo watched as Heero deliberately settled into the couch, destroying his precious ass-groove, then turned to him with a very icy, very deadly glare.

"Maxwell, shut up. I should kill you right here, you know. But since we have peace now, I wont. But don't expect me to stay here with you, unless you can explain something to me."

Duo sputtered a bit. Why would Heero want to kill him? He had just _saved his fucking life_ and now he was mad? Well, that didn't make any sense at all. Duo handed Heero a Coke and sat down in a worn armchair opposite him, studying the unchanging expression intently.

"Well, what do you want Soldier Boy?" Duo grinned, waiting for Heero to ask him something related to the peace he wasn't used to or something about his laptop. He was trying very hard to ignore the coldness veritably gushing off of his newly revived friend, but it was making him rather uncomfortable.

"I am sore. You know what I mean. What exactly did you do to me while I wasout of commission? Don't lie to me Duo.tell me what happened."

"Oh" Duo bit his lip and slid down in his chair, looking kind of ashamed. It was very obvious, he knew, that his body language was telling Heero that he had indeed had sex with him the night before. Duo hadn't thought about this, he was more on the lines of 'Heero is back and I'm never letting him leave ever even if he wants to so there,' but this could put a major damper in his plans.

"Yes, _that_ what justifies your actions Maxwell? I really hope you have a good reason for this." Heero gave Duo a reprimanding glare that made him feel watery inside. Heero was cute when he was pissed, but this was worse, Heero was downright mad, and Duo didn't exactly feel safe right now, he had this insatiable urge to hide under the coffee table.

"Well," Duo started off by squeaking, his voice going really high pitch and cracking.. "Uhm.After the war, you disappeared. No-one could find you, everyone thought you were either dead or hiding somewhere. Then I got this message from professor G, and it was a mission to steal some stuff from J. So I went, and lo and behold, I find you there too, chained up to a wall, naked. So I brought you home with me.

"You didn't remember anything at all about who you wereyou were acting like a slave, and calling me 'Master' and stuff. It was really weird. So I started looking through J's stuff, and I found out all the recorded details of you life, since you were about three years old. He has everything, he's got all these stats and systems that he used to mold you so you'd be exactly what he wanted, he was really good at what he did, but he completely changed you Heero. It was freaky to read all at once, he has videos and photos and all kinds of stuff, a lot of it that you have probably never known about.

"Anyway, At the end of the war he drugged you and destroyed all of your memories with this machine. And, what was left was a blank mind and some natural impulses, so he molded that into a new personality. It was scary. He turned you into a slave, and that is who I found chained to the wall. The slave. I thought it was you, so I started calling it Heero, and it thought I was its Master. But then I found all that information, and I couldn't imagine that that thing had taken over your body, even if there was no hope of you ever getting it back. It was just a revolting thought. So I wanted to find a way to get rid of it. I eventually found out that there was a way to get you back, and if it didn't work then I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I was willing to try. I let the slave have what he wanted for his last night, and that was to make me dinner and let me fuck him. So Heero, its not like I violated you or something, Jesus, I'm not like that. The slave wanted it."

Duo finished his summary of what had happened recently and he looked up at Heero, expecting him to somehow apologize for being a bastard before he knew what was going on. What he didn't expect was the cold stone wall that Heero's face had become.

"Uhh, Heero? You wanna read through your past or sumthin? I didn't change it at all, I just read through it. It was necessary."

"Maxwell, It would be in your best interest to leave for a little while. I am not holding myself responsible for my actions towards you in the next few minutes."

Heero sounded so controlled; Duo wasn't planning on leaving, but he didn't get what was making Soldier Boy so upset. His voice was dead calm, but it was seriously scary. Heero probably couldn't hurt him anymore, could he? After all, Duo was now much taller and broader than Heero, and he still knew how to fight. But that didn't really mean a thing, the Perfect Soldier didn't have five years softening him up like Duo did. Heero was the more deadly of them, Duo knew, and if for some reason this came down to a fight, Heero would win.

~o0O0o0O0o~

Heero was trying his very damnedest to control the rage that blistered beneath the calm wall of his face and eyes. It had become the toughest challenge in the world not to kill Duo right then and there. Heero had honestly thought that Duo, of all people, was above something as petty as hating a person for being lesser.

True, Heero's Other, the poor misled creature that was currently terrified and trying to hide from the anger that folded through him, was feeble of mind, but his intentions were good, and it was all he knew. Heero felt like the thing in his head really was a part of him, it was an example of who he would have been had his training and upbringing been different. Heero saw no reason to dislike his other for being weak, he saw someone that needed protection.

And the voice in his head already exhibited qualities that Heero himself did not feel he possessed; the other Heero was constantly trying to serve and do something for someone else; he was so selfless. Unfortunately Heero did not feel that he could ever bring himself to bow down on his knees in front of the man who stood before him. It was simply not going to happen. During the war, Duo had really convinced Heero that he was a nice person, that he was worth being with, but he had just proven himself wrong. His poor treatment of someone so weak was pathetic.

Heero didn't want to think about the look of plain hope and glee on Duo's face when he had first seen him, in the cell at G's lab. That look told him that there was something else in Duo, a feeling or something that was strong enough to make him reckless and uncaring in his pursuit. But that didn't make it right for him to fuck someone who was not in control of their own desire. Heero's Other clearly loved and desired anyone who was nice to him; anyone who took care of him and fed him was deemed as desirable in his mind. That wasn't right, Heero would not stand for it. He wanted to teach the other him, and maybe learn a few things for himself.

Right now the only thing he wanted to do was placate the boy in his head by promising not to hurt Duo. It was difficult, Heero felt that another punch was in order, but he couldn't bring himself to actually get up and hit Duo with the pitiful voice pleading with him to be merciful. Heero finally decided not to do anything. He looked at Duo squarely, and Duo was looking back at him with a baka grin that said he was scared.

"DuoI think you should know, that Heero is still alive, he is still here. And even though you don't give a damn about him, it is solely to calm him that you remain unharmed. I don't know what fantasy your mind has entertained for the past five years, but I won't have any part in it, I am going to find a way to learn about peacetime, and I will teach Heero how to live while I'm at it. Duo, you never even knew my name, there is nothing between us. Goodbye."

Heero got up and left the stunned boy sitting in his living room. He left the apartment with nothing, he didn't even have a wallet, or a computer, or anything. He just was gone, and he knew that Duo would probably stare at the open doorway for a few hours after he went, but that really didn't matter. Heero couldn't bring himself to stay there any longer.

~o0O0o0O0o~

Outside on the street, Heero wandered around the neighborhood, eventually finding a nice little park with benches and big trees and the whole deal. He looked around and finally decided to climb into a tree and think for awhile. It was still light out on the colony, and it would remain so for a few hours yet, Heero had time before he needed to find a place to stay.

He crawled up into a large tree, surprised that a poor colony like L2 even had trees, and nestled himself in the crook of the trunk and a large branch. He closed his eyes and let himself drift for a bit, taking in the sounds around him with only a soldierly ear; he wasn't really hearing them unless they became threatening.

// Heero, I can't go back to Maxwell, I don't think you realize, he should never have had sex with you. //

~Butwho will take care of me? And Master Duo was so niceI liked him.~

// Duo took advantage of you, and you don't even know it. He only pretended to be nice to you to get to me. You heard what he said about youhe doesn't even think you deserve a chance at life, he would rather that you be dead than live, and I can't accept that. I'll take care of you Heero, but I'm your equal, I'm you. Ok? ~

The presence of Heero's Other flickered with the effort it was taking at thinking this throughit was hard for him t accept that he would no longer have a Master, Heero hypothesized.

// But you will have a guide, I'll be here. And, you can help me. //

~Oh no, how could I ever help you? You're the Perfect Soldier, you already know how to do everything. There is nothing else I can teach you.~

// There is, I want to learn how to forgive, I want to learn how to love.//

~You meanMaster Duo?~

// I want to forgive him if he is sorry for this, he doesn't deserve to be shut out forever, only for a little while. //

~You have already learned forgiveness I think, if you know that you want to forgive Master Duo.~

// Oh. //

~Maybe we should go back to him?~

// Not yetI need time, and he needs time. And you need time as well. //

~Then what are we going to do?~

// I don't know, we could get a motel for the nightI'm sure I will need a chance to adjust to youI have been lapsing into conversation with you all the timeI should probably not do that. //

~I could be quiet and try not to distract you. I didn't know I was doing that, I'm sorry.~

// Iie, that is not what I want. And It isn't what you need. We will find a place to stay tonight, and perhaps tomorrow we can go back to Duo, but I don't know //

~He never hurt me Heero, he was nice to me. I don't hate Master Duo.~

// I'm not asking you to hate him. //

~Can we get out of here now? Please?~

// Ah. I will find us a place to stay. //

Heero got up and jumped out of the tree, then looked around him. All he needed was some money, and he could have a place to stay. He needed a computer. There were public libraries which let people have access to computersweren't there? But how to find one

Heero looked around, and he looked down at himself. He was wearing a pair of jeans that were too big for him, and a huge black sweatshirt with a hood. Obviously Duo's clothes. Heero pulled up one of the shirt's massive sleeves to reveal his arm; it was thin and his skin was pale, he looked sickly. No-one would believe he wasn't an orphan or a homeless boy or somethingbut then it occurred to him that he was now twenty-one, shouldn't he have something to show for being older? He needed a mirror.

Walking out of the park, Heero looked at the gentle upward slope of the dreary colony, there was a more commercial area not too far away, maybe he could find a public bathroom or something. He began to walk along a narrow road with cracked, crumbly pavement and no line in the middle.

~o0O0o0O0o~

// The fucker's still alive, DAMNIT! //

That was the primary thought circling through Duo's head at the moment. The slave boyhe was still alive, and not only that, but he was in Heero's mind, warping Heero's thoughts and probably trying to control him. Why else would Heero have stormed out for the reason he didthere were only a few options left now, Either Duo had to find some way to get rid of the unnatural intruder, or he would simply have to wipe away Heero's mind yet again and re-install his previous memories.

And this time, when Heero woke up, Duo would be sure that he was right there with him, to keep him safe and guide him, and instill nothing but devotion for Duo in himno more of this 'master' crap, just plain devotion and love. Excellent. Now all he had to do was find Heero, and complete the mission.

Duo contacted G and asked him to fix the memory-eating machine and save a copy of Heero's memories for later use. G asked him what he had planned, and Duo began to explain what was going on. G nodded and grinned in a decidedly Duo-like manner.

"I see, well I'll have everything ready on the hour, this is going to be funI've taught you well, boy."

Duo severed the connection and went into his room, rooting through his closet to find what he was looking for. His hand gun from the war, and heavy-duty tranq darts to load it with. Laughing gas, in case he needed it, and anything else he thought might be useful. Duo suited up in black riding pants, although they were obviously not the ones he had from the war, and his traditional priest's shirt and white collar. He undid his hair and braided it up again, twining lock-picks and a few other goodies between the plait. He filled his pants pockets, slipped a few knives into the ensemble here and there, and finally secured a black cap over his head and holstered his gun.

It was time to hunt Heero Yuy. And take him over.

~o0O0o0O0o~

Heero got to the busier part of the colony, and walked along a strip mall until he found a grocery store that had a washroom he could use. He went in and locked the door behind him, glad it was a single room. Turning, Heero was surprised at his reflection in the mirror covered wall.

He was thin, and he hadn't grown an inch since he last remembered seeing himself. Inching closer to the glass, Heero ran his hands over his face. His eyes looked like they were set more deeply in his skull; dark around the outsides, but the clear blue that shone from them was still captivating, even to the owner of the eyes. Heero never knew why his eyes were so bright, but they were, and the effect was more startling now than it ever had been.

His cheeks were thinner, almost hollowed. He looked like a starving twelve year old boy, but for the pain in his eyes and the mature contours of his face. His nose was the same, as were his lips, but his skin was very pale, it made him look like a specter, especially with the messily cropped dark brown bangs that ran jaggedly over his forehead. His hair was a bit darker than he remembered, probably because he hadn't seen too much sunlight in the past five years.

The overall impression that he gave off, even to himself, was more exotic than he would have liked, but for the baggy clothes. He felt strange, looking at the man in the mirror and seeing a pretty young boy who looked like he might try to seduce you for a few dollars to buy dinner for himself that night. He didn't like it at all. There was no way anyone would give him a job, especially not here on L2 where young thieves were common. The sheer juxtaposition of his features was startling, a mad contrast between a poor, starving angel and a crafty, seductive demon.

Heero's Other was being quiet, not saying anything about the look. He was, after all, accustomed to it. Heero left the bathroom, needing to relieve himself but not wanting to see the bruises that flowered over his pale skin beneath his clothes. He could feel them, they were fresh. And he knew they would be Duo's handprints.

Leaving the store, Heero continued to walk along the strip mall. There was no library here. He debated talking to someone, maybe asking them where he could find a public library, but that would leave a trail for Duo to trace, and Heero didn't want to be stalked by the disturbed Shinigami he had left at the apartment.

Staying out of the busiest parts of the town, Heero wandered along until he found a payphone where the phone book hadn't been ripped apart, and he looked up libraries. There was one, he had passed it twice already, and he had completely missed it both times. Backtracking a block, Heero found that the place would still be open, and he wandered in.

"Excuse me, are there computers for public use here? I have a school project and I need to do some internet research"

The lady at the desk had looked startled at Heero's quiet voice, it sounded strange for someone his age, but she smiled after he explained himself and pointed to a deserted bank of computers sitting in a corner of the library.

"Normally there is a one-hour time limit, but you can take your time, there isn't anyone else here. Just tell me if you need help with anything, and I'll be right over, ok?"

"Thank you ma'am."

Heero wandered over to the computers and sat down at one that was pointed away from the librarian, she didn't need to see him hacking banks. He looked over his old accounts, someone had been monitoring them for the past five years. Tracing the bi-annual checks, Heero found that Duo had looked after his stuff for him while he was gone. That made Heero feel like Duo had been spying on him, shit. Duo knew his accounts then, in fact, it would be a very bad thing to take money from one of them. There were two that had not been monitored at all, Heero suspected that Duo knew nothing of these, and he arranged a withdrawal and cash pick-up with a bank not too far away. He had an hour to get there, plenty of time.

Signing out after making sure that his tracks were covered well, Heero went back over to the librarian and thanked her for letting him work, then left the library for the bank. The tall building loomed ahead of him.

Heero went in, got his cash free of hassle, and left again. He felt a heavy sigh from his Other, and turned his thoughts inward.

~Don't you ever get tired Heero? You have been working at this all dayhow can you be so efficient? I can feel our body aching for restI'm not used to actually doing things like thinking all day long, please can we rest now?~

// You feel tired? //

~YesI do.~

// That is illogicalI have only been working for a few hours. //

~True, but you have to remember that you are older now, and I was never fed properly, I never got to do healthy exercise. Take a break for the night.~

// ButDuo will find us. We have to leave the colony first. //

~Please Heero~

Heero felt the weariness in his malnourished frame starting to make him nauseous, he really did have to rest, and soon. Sighing outwardly, Heero returned his focus to the street ahead of him and walked along until he came to a hotel that seemed half-decent. He handed money to the counter attendants, and they gave him a room with a bed and a bathroom, and there were some clean towels and he was able to order clothes online, which were brought to him within the hour.

He gave in to his Other's need for sleep, and relinquished control of his body, letting the other Heero slide into place and take him through the simple movements of brushing his teeth and going to the bathroom. The Other Heero didn't seem to mind the ache that was still faintly present, in fact he seemed comforted by it. Heero was on the inside now, having willfully given up control of his own body for the night.

~o0O0o0O0o~

Heero felt control of his frame slide into his grasp once they were inside the hotel room. He thanked the Original Heero and brushed his teeth and undressed. It was automatic for him to curl up at the foot of the large bed, but Yuy made bright protest, telling him to get their ass under the covers. Heero hastily apologized and crawled into the silk sheets, letting a heavy sigh fall from his lips, as there was no Master Duo here to keep him warm and safe.

~You don't need to sleep with Duo to be safe, Heero, you know that.~

// But I miss himI want to lay with him. Don't you think it would be nice to curl up beside someone warm and know that they wont let anything bad happen to you? //

~That would be nice, but Maxwell isn't like thathe tried to kill you.~

// Are you going to go to sleep soon? //

~Whyam I keeping you awake?~

// I think somy eyes are closed though //

~We're already asleep Heero, just calm down. You're safe here.~

Heero felt a little calmer at Yuy's strong words. He tried to snuggle up to the pillows on the bed, even as he subconsciously snuggled up with the real Heero in his head.

~o0O0o0O0o~

Outside, elsewhere on the colony, Duo smiled as he picked up Heero's trail and made his way to the 24-hour library. Not only did he know Heero's tactics, but Shinigami was angry nowHeero wouldn't escape him.

Duo walked into the establishment, startling the woman at the desk when he appeared in front of her seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing a knife and a manic grin as he cheerfully said hello, and asked her a few questions.

All that mattered was finding Heero now, Duo didn't care what he did to reach his goal. It was becoming another of his obsessionsin fact this was even worse than an obsession, it was a hunger, it was voracious and malignant. It had to be done.

Duo tapped into the accounts Heero had accessed less than a few hours before, having learned a few things that his Prey simply didn't know about hacking, because of the technological advancements and all the computer work he'd been doing for five years that did not exist on Heero's side of the scale.

Heero was so predictable, he had taken out enough money for a shuttle ticket off-colony, but he had no ID, he was still here. Checking the city maps for the location of the bank, in relation to the library, and various hotels in the area, Duo quickly zeroed in on two possibilities. They were in line if Heero was walking from the bank to a hotel, which he most likely was, and they were at his standard level.

// Good old predictable Yuy, // Duo thought as he cleaned up the evidence that he was the librarian's slayer, washed his hands in the bathroom, and left the library through the back door.

Heero hunting was fun.