Part 7: Proclamation and Feelings
The dancing flames surround her, she looked to the man that came walking and shrugged. "So you are the real Heero Yuy? Who was the other one that confronted me?" Dorothy asked as the flames began to tug at her burning flesh.
"The other was was the illusion of reality. But another reality."
"Two Heero's? I'm sure that would please most."
"Shut up."
"You are the real Heero. Snippy one that takes no shit under any circumstance. Let's play a game, shall we?"
The other voice chuckled slightly. "A game with you, Catalonia? Have you really been dead that long?"
She laughed along in melody. "Well you see, a game should be played with an apparent prize. Shall you be the prize if I win?"
"You're twisted; a prize? To what kind of a game?"
"A word game, none the less. Just have a little fun."
"This is hell, there is no fun."
"Why not? I say that if the opportunity presents itself, take it!"
"You were meant to be here. You enjoy it."
"And you don't? Do you have an answer or not?"
"And what would be the prize if I were to win?"
"Information about your beloved Duo. I know you haven't seen him in a while and at the very moment two people are bickering about who he belongs to. I can tell you more, that was a sample."
"Fine."
"Now all you need to do is follow my phrase with another, it's that simple. Ready?"
Heero walked closer to the girl, glaring. "Start."
Dorothy smiled. The man of little words challenging the woman of many? The odds would have been in her favor. "Writing on the walls may depict all the fine lines that intertwine." Heero raised an eyebrow and continued accordingly.
"Rusty nails cut the flesh from its wound the crimson pours out." Dorothy shook her head, this might have been slightly more difficult then she had figured in.
"It was fogged up by the detail, picked out from the groove, you know what I'm saying?"
Heero nodded. "It is smashed through the alabaster walls. White dust lies in tears."
Dorothy crossed her arms, so he could play after all. Fine, time to bring out the big guns. "Tick-tock. It's ten o'clock."
"Past the grave the dead dance to the off-key tune of realism."
'How long has he been in hell?' "And diamonds clashed cups with the rusty nail."
"From the glass the spirit pours out, for it's life was forsaken for another."
"Binding chains."
"Silence rains."
"Far away."
"Gone today."
"Witnessed the trial."
"Still in denial."
"Tick-tock." Dorothy said once more.
"It's ten o'clock." Heero countered.
"Say bye to the present." She said, his last line would need to match hers.
"It waves good-bye back."
"Dammit Yuy! You must have been practicing! Fine, information, what do you want?" Dorothy said crossing her arms viscously. She wasn't used to being defeated in that manner.
"Is Duo okay?"
"Hmm, out of all the questions you could ask that is the one you had to ask first?"
"Just answer, I beat you."
Dorothy nodded. "Fine. He's the leader of the little group of rebels that are going against Oz. Oh yes, and there is the fact that I shot him in the side right before he died." Dorothy snipped. A hand lashed crossed her face before she could know what was happening. She looked in shock back to Heero who was glaring at her deadly.
"If you weren't already dead and in hell I would make sure to send you there."
"Hmm, you sure are confident. At least my ex-lover is with 1/1000 of what I used to be."
". . ."
"You act as if you already knew that, Heero it's a shock to everyone, how can you be so damn ignorant?" She shouted to him. He only looked to her blankly.
"I already knew that. Once in a while I can feel myself going back into that body. After all, I did beat Duo at him own game during training."
"You're crazy!"
"Look who's talking."
"Just leave me alone."
"With me here you are going to have a hell of a time."
"I'm not going to be able to tolerate those bad puns."
I looked to Duo who laid unconscious on his bed. I had to watch over him for now, but I also wanted to change out of these cloths badly. They clung to my body, from my sweat, like a leech. I shower would be nice as well. But neither of those seemed to be in the picture. It had been an hour and a half, so he was going to wake up relatively soon. I waited, but that was when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." I called and Relena walked in. She had taken a shower, her hair was damp from the water and hung heavy in a bun. She had on a different set of cloths as well. The jeans that rode low on her hips were being held up by a chunky black belt. The white T-Shirt she was wearing had the sleeves torn of the showed a couple scars on her arms. But still, the most surprising tribute to this outfit was the fact that she was wearing hot pink bunny slippers.
Some things of the past never went away, did they?
"Heero, I came to relieve you of your duties for now. Go take a shower and get changed."
"I don't have anything to change into."
She handed me the pile of clothes that she was carrying in her hands. "That's why I brought these. Just go, I'll take care of him."
I was a bit hesitant to leave, but after a moment of debate and then that all together sticky-feeling, I nodded and began to walk out.
"Thank you." I said simply and left. I walked down the hall to the shower rooms and looked around. Many other soldiers were there. Also, when I was looking around I noticed that Relena must have been the only female in the entire complex. I walked into the shower rooms and picked a random empty locker to throw my clothing in. As soon as I had done that, I stripped down and walked into the shower area.
I turned the faucet hand of a vacant shower and thanked god for small favors. I closed my eye in the pleasure and then heard a voice from behind me. "Make sure not to get the bandaging to wet." I turned around to face Ruddy.
Shit.
"Thanks," I said and hoped that he wouldn't try anything. He continued to stare at me for a minute and I began to shift uncomfortable. I gave him a questioning glance and he looked almost afraid of me. That got my attention.
"Is it true that you kicked Duo's ass?"
So he was afraid of me. But it was something that I didn't do, it was something that just... How would I describe it? That was next to impossible!
"Yeah, I saw it." Some else called from the other area.
"It was brutal." Another.
"But it was something, I thought that he deserved it and didn't at the same time!"
"I also heard that kicked isn't the only thing he has done to Duo's ass."
I wasn't going to say anything to that comment.
"That's old news!"
"No, I mean recently, as in last night."
Did they have to talk about me like this when I was right here? The least they could do is have enough decency to talk about me behind my back. I grabbed some shampoo from one of the dispensers and lathered it into my hair, closing my eyes as the bubbles began to drip.
As I rinsed, I tried to put my face as close to the shower head as I could, it might drowned out the voices. I couldn't stay like that forever so I grabbed the soap and tried to do the same. As soon as I was done I made my getaway as fast I could. They were all still scared of me, so it was better to leave it as that. I then in the cloths that Relena had given me, hoping that I wasn't going to make a fool out of myself wearing them, I hadn't looked at them yet so I was hoping that they were remotely decent.
I pulled the orange t-shirt over my head and then slipped into the black jeans. Well, it seemed as if I wasn't going to be embarrassed after all. Then I shuffled around though what was left and looked for shoes. My eyes widened as I looked down to what she had called 'shoes.'
It was a pair of slippers. Baby-blue and little pom-pom ornaments sewn with silver. I dropped my head in defeat. I knew she was going to do something along this line. But shoes were shoes and I slipped them on. I took the dirty cloths into my left arm and began to walk back to Duo's room. I neared the door but paused as I heard Duo's voice.
"I'm going to kill him!" He shouted but then his voice fell silent. I waited a moment until the other voice came.
"Um, Duo? There is something that I have been meaning to tell you..." her voice trailed off and I sat down outside the door to listen quietly.
"What's up?"
"Well, this is hard for me to say, but we have been through a lot together and I thought that it would only be right for you to know something."
"What is it?"
"I don't know how I would phrase this..."
"Just say it directly."
"Duo, I love you. I think I have been in love with you ever since Heero, the other Heero, died."
I felt my heart pick up; I needed to know what he was going to say to that. It wouldn't take him long to respond because nothing could render Duo Maxwell speechless.
"Well, I have to say that I never thought that I would hear that from you."
"I'm sorry, I just had to tell you, don't be mad at me."
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because you-"
"I could never be mad at you."
Now was the time that I never thought that my heart could hurt this much. Did that mean that if she practically threw herself at him that he would do the same? I wasn't sure if I should just leave and go back to my bunk or walk in before anything else happened. Well, I had my mind settled since Duo wasn't to engage in any strenuous activity. I walked in.
"Thanks for the clothes, Relena, but I don't think that the slippers were necessary." She looked a little baffled, wondering how long I had been out there.
"Relena, I'll talk to you later?" Duo said and she nodded, walking out the door. "You okay?" I asked him. "My side hurts but besides that I'm fine, I'm just glad that it all worked out, wouldn't you say?" He smiled and gestured for me to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
I complied and took the seat, Duo still smiling. "So how is your arm?" I looked to it for a second. "It needs to be re-bandages."
He laughed. "That's one way to look at it, here, let me see." I extended my arm and he moved slowly to take it. Before I knew it he grabbed the area of my arm that was not injured and pulled me closer and then held me tight in a headlock.
"You're so dead!" He shouted to me and then removed the headlock only to re-grip one hand to a pair of wrists. Now that was it, I wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he was going to kill me. "You were not supposed to go against my orders like that! Aren't you a solider?!"
"It was for your own good..." I said rather weakly. He glared to me and with his loose hand fastened it around my neck. I tired to remain as calm as possible and keep what pride I had left. I wasn't going to go against what he was about to do. It was, more or less, my fault that I was in this situation in the first place. His eyes went low and hinted at a, somewhat, malice idea. I was going to get it and bad.
Cool lips were placed over mine in an act of pure desire. My eyes snapped open; that was the one thing I had not been expecting. He trailed the kisses down my neck, moving his hand so he could access my flesh. I felt my body stiffen and then relax. I was frozen to that spot, I didn't know what I was supposed to do, was this my punishment?
Even though one of his hands released my neck, the other one was still fastened tightly across my wrists. He spread his lips across my jaw line, nibbling ever so slightly and then brought his lips back to meet mine. At the touch, my body and mind had a different reaction.
He was giving me another vision.
"I can see that you're not in the best of moods, are you, Mr. Maxwell?" My eyes snapped open; I was back in school looking up to the angry gaze of a teacher. "S-sorry teach, I was just thinking about something a little different then your lesson plans.." I guessed without the slightest clue how mad that would make the teacher.
"Mr. Maxwell, I suggest that you look over my lesson plans today in detention."
"Wha-?!"
"Yes, Mr. Maxwell, further more, class, is there anyone else who is a little," he paused, "preoccupied?" The entire class shook their heads in unison.
I cringed; detention? Was this my punishment? A little cliché, but was that really what Duo was going to put me through?
I waited for him to finish the vision.
10...
45...
72 minutes...
Damn, this was torture. He knew that it was too, but didn't that also mean that he was reliving the memory as well? Or could he channel that part out? There are so many things unanswered about the entire theory of 'giving memories.' I would never have believed it unless I realized it first hand.
120 minutes.
The teacher walked up to me, glaring. "You have two more hours." My body face-vaulted. "What the hell-?!"
"That just tacked you on an extra half-hour. Watch your language Maxwell."
Did Duo really just have to do that? I was wondering how many other hours he would get added on because of misbehavior. I looked down to the paper that laid in front of me. My hand moved and doodled along the edges, I watched, there wasn't anything better to do.
It was passing very, very slowly.
If it took any longer I thought I was going to die, even if in Duos memory he hadn't died. I had been through war. Battle after battle, but nothing in the world compared to this and school. That was one of the hardest things out there. Over and over, the next thing I knew my entire paper was filled with those doodles. Most of them were little gundams, but across the top was a little comic strip.
I grinned at Duo's drawings, inwardly, of course. Outwardly I was writing multiple obscenities about the teacher. I sat in waiting, it continued and continued. Endless, seemingly, that was all it was and all it would be in the end. I watched the clock for a couple more moments. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. I could at least start another countdown. Now I was on the half-hour I had gained due to my mouth. Or, what he had gain, that would be more accurate in the long run. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
I watched my hand move agilely along the papers edge, marking ever so slightly every now and then. Marks connected along the other marks. It continued until a picture was formed. I was slightly amused from the picture. Shinigami along, yet another edge, looking off into space with a mischievous grin spread across his shadow cloaked face.
In the border a phrase befell the unmarked paper edge.
"Proclamation: watch out because times change and promises lose meaning."
Was the entire vision brought about to show me this sentence? And then was the torturing in the process part of my punishment. It was probably an added bonus in his mind. I waited, the teacher looked to me after the half-hour had ended.
"You are free to leave, don't make this mistake again." I nodded and left the building, exiting through the back door that would lead immediately to the outside.
"Heh, was that a little bit of friendly torture for ya?" I heard his voice sneer.
My eyes shot open and I was faced him once again. "You know, when you get those visions you have no access to your body what so ever? It's actually rather amusing to think that your astral form has left completely and your body, as you know now, is completely helpless. If a normal person would see you in that condition you would be apparently dead."
"Then that would make you the murder."
"On the contrary, it would be an apparent suicide."
I felt myself grinning, probably like the idiot I was. "I don't think you would let me die like that if you were just fighting so hard to keep me alive."
"You're smart." He kissed my forehead. I smiled again.
"So when you give me those vision my body is helplessly under your control?"
He nodded, and then let go of my wrists. "Precisely."
"So if you gave me a vision in a long enough time you could do just about anything to me, ne?"
"Like I said, you're smart."
I felt myself go silent as I laid my head back. "So?"
"So what?"
"What was going on in your head when she told you her feelings?"
"What do you mean? You were eavesdropping?"
"Well I was coming back and I didn't want to interrupt so I stopped at your door!"
"And just happened to listen in."
He was making me feel like a criminal, but wasn't that what I was? "I guess..." I said as if I myself wasn't sure.
"I don't mind, but don't you think you should be more careful next time?"
I nodded weakly. "But you still haven't answered my question."
"What do you want me to say? Something about how I was in love with a guy from another reality?"
"Well now that you phrase it that way it sounds weird..."
"Weird doesn't cut it! There is much more to it then that!"
"Gomen."
"Okay, now just don't worry. I don't know what I'm going to tell her. But it shouldn't be any of your concern."
I hung my head slightly but then straightened up. "Just make sure to take care of yourself right now. If that bullet wound wasn't treated when it was you would have died. You shouldn't have gotten mad at me because of a little needle."
"It wasn't the needle! It was you going against my orders!"
I stood back up from my laying position. "If that is all you see of it, fine. I saved your life just as you have mine. I don't care if you think that little of it but don't be mad at me for that reason. You should just be happy that you're alive."
"Don't get so high and mighty! Just because you lived through that battle and just because you accomplished that mission doesn't mean anything! Yeah, you were a perfect solider, but not any more. You are one of my soldiers now. Know your place."
"And that would be?"
"I have to admit that I'm not sure yet."
"Then don't assume me one until you're sure."
He stared at me for a second longer and then dropped his gaze. "You're too special to me to lose and you know that. Please don't push me like this."
I turned my back to him and stood in silence. "I'm going for a walk." I said after a moment longer.
"Watch out because times change and promises lose meaning." He said as I walked out of the door. I could still hear those words and now I was beginning to wonder what he had meant by that. But how much time would have to pass before they did lose the meaning?
I walked out through the hallway and saw Relena come into my gaze. She had her arms crossed and walked up to me slowly. I walked past her but she placed a hand on my shoulder stopping me. I looked around her and she gestured for me to follow her. I wasn't sure where she was leading but I wasn't about to go with her after what she had told Duo. When I didn't follow immediately she looked back, crossed.
"What? I'm not going to bite you or anything." Speaking of, where was Jackie? I must have been carried off in thought because she looked rather annoyed by my silence. "Come on." She stated and I stood there, unmoving. "What are you worried about?"
"I'm not worried about anything." I quickly countered and stayed in my position.
"Then come with me!"
"I don't have a reason to come with you."
"Think of it as doing a comrade a favor." She noted the disgust in my face. "Don't you consider me a comrade? When did you get to hate me so much, Heero?" What would I tell her? What Duo had said so sarcastically? I could say that, although I could always shock her with that fact that we had slept together not even a day prior. I would, if the situation lead to that.
That thought brought and amused grin to my face and my
feet began to move in her direction. She smirked and I followed,
slowly, but I followed.
End of part 7
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