Um, yeah…that last chapter was really short, because the time between it and the preceding chapter was just too much for my piece of mind. I HATE not working on anything for so long. It's been, what, a month? More? So, it was short, but this will hopefully be longer. Hopefully. Safe for all couples/non-couples.

You know what? When I first started this, I wanted either a sweet 1x2/2x1 or a 2x5/5x2. And now…now it's looking to become the longest and most involved fic that I will probably ever write. Golly Gee for me.

Duo held the strange woman in his arms, looking at Nanashi…Trowa, over the top of her head. He narrowed his eyes, his face taking on a threatening quality as he thought of the tall man beating on the frightened female he held. A trained assassin had no right, none what so ever, to take his frustration out on woman in his arms. His expression was dark, daring Trowa to say something to defend himself. The brunette held up his hands, his emerald eyes staring back. "She was kidnapped."

There was silence in the apartment for a moment, and then Duo nodded, tightening his embrace slightly as the woman continued to cry. "She's the one you had to save, isn't she?" Another quiet pause, and then Trowa nodded. "You don't have another place to go?"

It was Heero who answered. "The corporation will not assist unless one of the agents are in trouble." Trowa looked surprised that he was sharing so much with Duo, but hid it quickly, masking his face into a contemplative study of Duo and the woman. "And their home is no longer safe."

Trowa nodded, stepping into the apartment finally so that he could shut the door. "They took her once, they may try again."

"She's your wife? Girlfriend?" A watery chuckle interrupted Duo before he could probe further. The woman pulled away from him slightly, wiping at her face with the back of her hand.

"He's my brother." Violet eyes went from her to her 'brother', before Duo nodded. They did look something alike, especially their hair color. She seemed to have regained her composure. She pulled away from Duo, and straightened. He was shorter than she was by two inches, and her brown eyes were looking down on him with a touch of amusement. He could still read the anxiety clear in her face, but it was more subdued, pushed down by what he could only guess was a supreme strength of will. The woman had character.

Now that he was no longer holding a crying woman in his arms, Duo felt a little self-conscious. In his apartment, or to be more exact, the apartment that Fate had decided to give him, he now had three strangers. Any of the three could be potentially dangerous to him, and according to Heero, at least two were capable of killing him before he blinked. The thought wasn't exactly comforting, but he couldn't find any real fear inside. It was obvious to him now that he was being used. He didn't know if Heero had stuck around because Trowa would be bringing his sister back, or if that was just a quirk of fate, but it would make sense that the blue-eyed man had stayed to make sure that Duo would cooperate.

He felt disappointed on many levels, but shoved the feeling down. At the moment, it wasn't his feelings of insecurities and doubts that mattered, but the live of the young lady in front of him, the same live that he had helped to save. He smiled, turning to walk into the kitchen area. For some reason, the world seemed to be getting weirder by the day. He didn't know if he could keep up with it if it went this fast, if things kept coming at him at such an incredible pace. The body he was now living in might have been stronger, but on the inside, he was still only a girl. An eighteen year-old debutant standing on the threshold of a woman-hood she would never realize.

His sigh was melancholy and quiet. The woman and Heero had huddled near Trowa and the three were now talking in hushed voices. He looked at them for a moment, watching the small, controlled movements of their hands. It looked like his assumption that the woman was innocent was wrong. He swung his gaze away, turning for his room instead of the kitchen. He didn't feel like eating suddenly. The apartment felt stuffy, as if his thoughts were filling all available space and closing in on him.

A few minutes later, he exited his room, to find his three guests still immersed in their conversation. The only difference was that they had moved from the space in front of the door to the couch, and were currently huddled over his coffee table looking at a piece of paper they had spread across the surface. He didn't bother saying goodbye to them. He figured that they would figure out he was leaving the moment he got to the door and opened it.

~~~~~_____~~~~~

The streets were deserted when he arrived on the street. He stepped out into the early afternoon sun, looking around interestedly. Even for a weekday, he had figured that someone would be out and about. He paused, violet eyes scanning the street. Admittedly, he wasn't a superstitious person, but for some reason, he had the feeling that something was amiss. He shook it off, and started toward down the street, walking pass his vehicle. Something crunched underfoot and he paused, bending down to have a look. It was some glass, probably from something being dropped and not cleaned up properly.

"Careless people," he said as he stood back up. He spoke to the air, "Your mother should have taught you to clean up after yourself better. Slobs."

"Is there a problem, Mr. Maxwell?" Duo turned quickly, eyes wide as he stared at the man who had snuck up on him. He was sure that the street had been empty moments before. The stranger seemed to have materialized out of thin air. Violet eyes glared, taking a cautious step backwards. Something about the man seemed to raise the hair on the back of his neck.

"Nah, just found a mess that someone didn't clean up very well. Do I know you?" queried Duo.

The man smiled, his teeth straight and white. He had dark hair, cut short and laid flat. His skin was tan, but not dark, and he stood about four inches above Duo in height. His blue eyes were staring through Duo, as if he could read everything that the braided man felt. "I'm afraid that we haven't had a chance yet to introduce ourselves, Mr. Maxwell. My name is Odin Lowell." He held out his hand. Duo shook it with a tense smile, and withdrew it as soon as was politely possible. "Hmm. You have a weak handshake, Mr. Maxwell. I would have expected more from a young man of your build."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's nice, really it is. I apologize, Mr. Lowell, but I need to be going."

"Are you late for something?" The other man asked, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.

There was a small pause on Duo's account, but then he shrugged. "I don't really have anyplace to be, I just don't trust you."

Odin Lowell laughed. "Such honesty! I think I'm impressed with you, Mr. Maxwell."

"Can we please stop the Mister stuff? It's kind of annoying. Just call me Duo."

"Of course. And you must call me Odin."

"Sure, Odin. Now, what do you want from me, because you're certainly not here to make friendly conversation."

Odin laughed again, throwing his head back. "You amuse me also, Duo. As you've already figured, I'm not here as a friend. Quite the opposite, in fact. I have a warning for you, Duo. A little advice that I would advise you take very seriously."

"Get on with the threatening, bub. I've had about as much of you as I can stand."

"So rude, Duo. Didn't your mother teach you better manners?"

"Why do you constantly say my name? Are you expecting me to forget that you're talking to me, or is repeating it the only way you can remember it? It's more than a little repetitive," Duo heckled the man, watching as the blue eyes narrowed farther, all pretense of friendliness vanishing. He had seen that look before, when Mr. Carswell, Duet's father, had refused a merger with another company. The director of the company had looked as cold as Odin did, and had later tried to attack Carswell.

Odin took a step forward, forcing Duo back another step to keep distance between them. The former smiled, lips twisting almost cruelly. "Duo Maxwell, it seems that you're harboring a few…strays in your apartment. For your safety, and the safety of your friends and family, I would suggest that you send them back to the pound where they belong."

"Great analogy, Odin, but they're people. And since I don't have any family and my friends are long gone, I would like to give you suggestion. You have no idea who you're messing with." He took a step forwarding, dredging up his courage. The look on the other man's face went from calm and controlled to uneasy. "You can threaten me as much as you like, but I'll give you fair warning right now. Of all the things in my life that scare me, you and what you think your capable of are not. I have seen death and I know no fear. You could even say that I've made a pact with death. So don't go messing where angels fear to tread, are you'll find yourself on the wrong side of the Powers That Be."

"Are you threatening me, little boy?" Odin recovered quickly, standing his ground so that they were nose to…chest. Duo glared up at him.

"You can take it as a threat or a promise, Odin. Just don't come around here expecting me to back down and cower before you, because I will disappoint you every time."

"And that, Lowell, is your cue to leave." Duo froze, and then turned around with a grimace to look into the baleful black gaze of Chang Wufei. The detective was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, arms crossed and feet spread apart. He looked ready to fight at the drop of a hat, and Duo was glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of that glare. Yet.

"Detective Chang. How…nice to see you again. What has it been? Two years?"

"Not long enough."

"Oh, tut tut, Chang. You wouldn't want Duo here to think that you lack manners would you?"

"The only person here lacking manners is you, Odin. I agree with Chang. You should leave," Heero's voice broke in. Odin spun around, giving Duo a good glimpse of Heero, Trowa, and Trowa's sister standing behind them.

Odin smiled.  "Oh look, the insects have come out of hiding. It's so good to see you, Cathy. Why, that's a nasty looking bruise. Whatever happened to you, my dear?" It took Duo a moment to realize that he was talking to the lady that he was still thinking of as nameless. "It seems that I'm rather outnumbered. I'll just be leaving this party." He turned back to Duo, "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Maxwell. It was so good talking to you."

He walked away without interference from anyone. When he was gone, Duo turned and looked at the other four in turn, starting with Heero and ending with Wufei. "I don't mean to pry, but what in the world is going on?" He was very proud of himself; he had managed to keep his voice level. They stared at him without bothering to answer. He shrugged, pinching his lips together. "Fine. I'll see everyone later. Have fun in my apartment. I'll try not to disturb you when I come in." He walked away, striding past Wufei without looking him in the eye.

When he was out of earshot, Wufei looked at the other three. "What the hell is going on?"

Heero sighed, letting his mask drop for a moment. "There are problems in the corporation."

"Why is Maxwell involved?" Prussian eyes met onyx squarely.

It was Cathy who answered, "We had no place else to go."

Trowa nodded in agreement. "He told me to return, and so I did."

The detective rolled his eyes. "This is something you're going to regret later."

The other three nodded. Wufei was probably right.

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Duo growled in frustration, leaning his head against the cool bricks. He had ducked into an alleyway as soon as he had found one out of sight of the others. He closed his eyes, clenching his fists and leaning them against the wall. "I don't understand. I just don't get it."

"Don't get what?" A voice asked from someplace deeper within the shadows of the alley.

The long-haired man straightened, turning to face the nearly invisible speaker. All he could pick out was the vague outline of a body, but the voice seemed male, so he would go with his first assumption: it was just another thug sent to hassle him. "Listen, bub, get lost. I've already dealt with one weird jerk today, I don't need you, too."

"Things not going as you had planned, Duet?" Duo felt his body stiffen, his heart jumping for moment before settling into a slightly erratic pattern. "I jus thought that I'd check up on you, see how you were doing."

"Not well." Now that he knew who the speaker was, he didn't know whether to feel relieved or angry. "What's going on?"

The figure laughed, the sound slightly mocking.  "You're really so young, you know that? I've been watching, and there are times that it's hard for me to remember that."

"You've been watching me since I came back?"

"Yes."

"Then can you help me out?" Duo asked, his voice taking on a plaintive quality. The figure laughed again. "And quit laughing. I'm not amused."

"I would apologize, but I'm not sorry for enjoying this. See, I have to admit that I was using you, Duet. Or would you prefer Duo now?"

"Duo would be fine. Explain yourself." The figure laughed again. Duo bit his lip to keep himself from retorting.

"I've used you. See, I have limited power over certain events that take place. I can only do so much. My 'job', if you will, is rather important, but because of an error I made several thousand years ago, I'm almost powerless to carry out all of my functions without help."

"What you're telling me is that I've made myself a deal with the devil? All my wonderful notions of love have gotten me sent back into my personalized version of hell where I can control nothing? Thanks, Satan. Is it too late to back out of my contract?"

"I'm not the devil, though that's probably a close assumption. Heaven and Hell aren't what you think they are, Duo. God and I…we're not exactly your biblical versions of good and evil."

"Who are you, then?"

"You may call me 'Solo'. I am the one and only Death." The figure stepped closer, and Duo could tell that he was another young man, around his age, give or take a year. He had short black hair and his eyes…his eyes were completely black. "I need your help, Duo."

"Why are you asking me this now? I thought the deal was that I would come back and lead a wonderful life after falling in love. Wasn't that the purpose?"

Solo laughed again, this time more in amusement than mockery. "The limitations on my powers would not allow me to send you back. I had to enlist outside help. And since Love right now seems to be lacking helpers, do to the tragedy and hate in the world, I asked Him to help me."

"Him? Love is a guy?"

"Something to that effect. We're actually asexual, but we object to being called 'it's, so we settle for the gender noun that fits. May I continue?"

"Please, go on. I'm not only curious, but confused."

"I don't wish to continue this here. Why don't we go down the street, and have lunch?"

~~~~~_____~~~~~

End Note: Okay, this is getting me nowhere fast. You know, I had some original ideas for this, and they've gotten away from me. We'll have to see where this little train goes. The couplings will come into play later.

Coming Soon: Action/Adventure, some Supernatural/Fantasy stuff, a little bit of drama, violence, and confusion.

Conclusion: Not anywhere close. I just really wanted to post a bit more, since it's been so long since I did C9.