Fixing A Broken Heart
yue kato
2000
Part 5:
"Forget me not
Those weren't your words
I'm home, haven't you heard the ring?
The sound of my voice
I know isn't much
That's why I
Say your name
When I fall
When I hit the bottom"
----"Eyesore", New Found Glory
"Damnit! You little piece of shit!" The hard, steel-tipped boot caught him squarely in the ribs, narrowly missing the wound where the bullet went through. By a sheer stroke of luck, it had penetrated the flesh between his ribs, catching him in the back and coming out through his right side. Not enough to kill him by far, but enough to drag him down and splash blood around, making everything really… messy.
The foot descended again, this time its aim true, and Duo couldn't restrain a muffled groan through gritted teeth as the fiery pain shot down his nerve endings. He kept his eyes closed, and tried to block out the insults and abuse being heaped upon him by his enraged captors. Breathe! Relax! Block out the pain… it's all in the mind… Think of something else… take the mind away…
It almost made him want to laugh – his Grim Reaper-Shinigami laugh – at the look on the would-be terrorists' faces when they realised that they had let the wrong party go. He had managed to knock out three of them before the remaining six jerked out of their inaction.
And even then, he was sure he could have dealt with them, bullet wound and all. But one of them had been holding a tranquilliser gun, and so now he was lying bonelessly on his side upon the rumbling floor of their getaway van, helpless to protect himself from the thrashing they were inflicting upon him.
At least Heero and Relena got away… mission accomplished… well, almost. He mentally braced himself for another blow. Heh, I always thought the war would finish me off. Go out with a bang and all that crap. God, it's such an *insult* to be killed by wannabes…
Things were slowly becoming murkier, even the pain seemed to be echoing down from far above. That last kick had been forceful enough – he knew, from his accursed wartime experiences – for a couple of his cracked ribs to give way and puncture his lung. It was becoming hard to breathe. A black exhaustion enveloped him.
Damn, it would be *really* good if someone could come get me like right now…
Heero…
"Fuck." Heero didn't bother to restrain the expletive that escaped his lips when the jeep screeched to a stop in front of the compound he had left just half an hour ago. Unlike the enshrouding darkness that had clouded the area then, with only a few strobing watchlights to penetrate the gloom, now the entire place was as bright as day – the spotlights had been switched on when the alarm had sounded.
"Fuck," he murmured again as he jumped out and approached the unmistakable crimson staining the dirt of the ground. It was splattered over a wide, roughly circular shape, as if a child had plunged his hands over a blob of red paint and smeared it carelessly over the canvas. His soldier's eyes took in the signs of the struggle, the fight Duo had put up before something brought him down, and he noted the tracks that had led to a vehicle parked near the gate. He approached the scorch marks searing the tar, bending down to feel its residual warmth. He had just missed them by 3 minutes.
For a moment, he remained frozen in that position, fingers in contact with the road, sensing the desertedness of the place, the silence when it is devoid of humans. From far away, the voice seemed to echo, "Ya can't kill death!…"
"Duo…" His fists clenched and he closed his eyes, trying to force the calm into his bloodstream. The nervous tension that had lodged itself somewhere between his throat and heart as he sped back refused to go away. In fact, it had hit new heights when he had seen the blood.
Somewhere within his mind, he knew with a sense of detachment, that there was a demon howling, thrashing, raging to be let loose. The demon that always came to the forefront when he was in his Gundam, that blinded him during those violent, senseless moments so he did not have to think of what he was doing then. The one Duo had expected to be released when he informed him of Relena's capture.
He drew in a deep breath and mentally pushed the screaming monster. It was not going to help him until he found Duo. Right now it would only interfere with his thinking as he tried to figure out which way the kidnappers had gone and how best to intercept them.
He was interrupted by a tinny voice sounding from the radio in his jeep. "Heero, Heero! Are you there? Pick up the radio! We've pinpointed Duo's position!"
He was by the jeep in an instant, glaring at the fuzzy image of Noin. "Where is he?! I want the exact coordinates."
"We can't do that, the van they're in is still moving. But I can give you the direction, and by the looks of it, they'll be hitting Highway I-59 soon. We'll be sending our back-up there."
"Ryokai." Heero started the engine and reached out to switch off the radio.
***
"Is she dead yet?" the driver of the van called out to his companions behind him, glancing at the rear-view mirror.
"Who's she?! It's a *he*!! One of those bloody Gundam pilots probably!" The sound of a muffled thud followed the embittered exclamation. "Damnit! He's not even screaming anymore!" More thuds.
"Hey, easy, man, what if you really kill him?" another voice protested, the underlying anxiety evident.
"SO?!! He tried to kill us too—" The irate man's justification was permanently lost as the driver swerved suddenly to try and avoid a dark figure that had mysteriously materialised onto the highway. It tumbled and crashed, finally ending up on its roof, the wheels churning uselessly in the air.
The silent whir of a bullet shot past the shattered glass of the windscreen and lodged itself in the middle of the driver's forehead.
One down, five more to eliminate. Heero soundlessly moved to the back door of the van. It was slowly beginning to creak open. Heero remained where he was in the shadows, gun poised and waiting.
A bloodstained hand curled around the edge of the metal door. Then, a dark, half-loosened braid emerged, followed by its owner toppling out as the door suddenly gave way.
"Duo!"
He managed to catch the braided pilot before he could hit the ground. Gently, he lowered the wounded man and quickly scanned his body to gauge the severity—
His gun was cocked and fired in rapid succession before he could even really think about it. Four thuds came subsequently – then all was quiet. He was going to enter the van to kill the last terrorist when Duo's rasping whisper stopped him.
"He's dead, man. Broke his neck when the van flipped." His voice caught and a harsh coughing broke out. "Shit…"
Heero had returned to his side, cradling Duo's head in his lap. The American's voice had begun to take on the gurgling quality that appeared when blood began filling the lung. "Don't talk, baka," Heero hissed, as he tried to staunch the blood flow.
"I think I got a punctured lung… Hard to breathe, man… Ne… never thought I would suf… suffocate… to death… heh…" Duo's voice gradually became softer, trailing off.
"I told you to shut up!" It didn't seem to be working, and the white cloth he was using to cover the wound was soaked through with red. He tore off another strip with shaking hands and pressed it over the wound.
Shaking, why were his hands shaking?
"Heero… yo… you're trembling…" Duo's voice drifted weakly into his ears. "Did you get hurt too?" The concern was evident, and Heero felt the sudden tensing of muscles as the other boy tried to get up.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?! Lie down, baka! I'm not hurt! You're the one who's bleeding like a stuck pig, you bloody idiot!" Unadulterated fear flooded him as the faint moonlight reflected the bloodlessness on Duo's cheeks. Carefully, he placed an arm around Duo's shoulders and drew him closer. Just so I can get to the wound easier… Damnit, Yuy, why are you still trying to deny yourself at a time like this?!!
Duo was silent for a long moment, long enough to make him wish the braided pilot would speak again, even if it was painful. "Ne… Heero… you're still shaking…"
The iron grip about his shoulders tightened, and Duo let out a soft sigh. He could taste the metallic tang of blood at the back of his throat. It was probably only a matter of time. He tried to summon up the fear he thought he would have felt – even being Shinigami and all – at the actual process of dying, but nothing responded.
The warmth of the body close to his, the gentle tremors that shook it, they told him something – Heero was telling him something, something the Japanese boy himself did not understand yet, but with the clarity of lying near death, Duo knew. He knew, and thus felt no fear.
"Hey… Heero… you scared?"
The other boy didn't answer, but Duo felt the warm drip of liquid on his forehead. Oh, Heero… "Don't… don't be scared, man…" He paused to gather breath. "I'm here…"
With an effort, he raised an arm and placed it at the back of Heero's neck, tugging him down. "Aishiteiru… Heero… ai… aishi—"
He was cut off as soft lips descended upon his bloodied ones, feather light and yet so intense at the same time. They hovered lingeringly, and he felt Heero's tongue dart out to lap at the blood that coated his lips. Then Heero pulled away, but they remained in contact, foreheads touching.
He slowly faded out of consciousness, the gradual drip of Heero's tears his only constant remaining in the darkening world.
End part 5