Chapter 4: Realization
I woke the next morning, all of the aches and pains gone from my body. I did not find this surprising considering all of the things that I had found out that night. My betrayal of Heero and the betrayal to myself.
I looked out my window out onto the front lawns, finding a lone gardener pruning azalea bushes, of a bright pink color. I want to go outside, I thought, and turned around to go to the bathroom. I walked around the bed; paused and looked down at the floor, muddy footprints, where Zechs had been standing. I walked to the bathroom, opened the door and was blinded by the bright light that came cascading out the doorway.
I shielded my eyes, slowly peering out from under my arm to let myself adjust to the light. I never thought that I could go through so many changes, I mean geeze puberty, and now this? I opened the door fully now, squinting my eyes the whole time due to the agonizing pain. I grabbed my sunglasses off of the counter and put them on, they made things so much better.
I looked up and saw myself, I expected to find a monster, but what I found was something completely different. It was me, a paler me, but still it was me. I laughed out loud at my foolishness, even Zechs the one who made me what I was now, looking back he looked the same as he used to. Though more glorious, it seems.
As I laughed I found two sharp fangs in place of my canines, it made me jump back and I stopped laughing then. I took off the sunglasses, and saw that my light purple eyes had changed to a brilliant violet color that shone in the mirror. Dropping the glasses down on the counter, I walked over to the shower and stepped inside, turning the water on in a nice hot stream, trying to wash everything away.
* * *
After I was done with my "daily grooming" I placed the black hat on top of my head, and as a final touch put the sunglasses on and pushed them up my nose. Glancing one last time at my reflection in the mirror, I turned and walked out the door.
At the bottom of the stairs, in the kitchen I could hear the rest of them sitting down, eating their breakfast of steak and eggs, prepared every morning by the ever so "homey" Quatre. Turning through the doorway, I gave a small wave and a "Good morning!" as four heads turned around to look at me.
Heero sat there with his laptop, a typing away, every so often taking bites of his food, as Wu Fei sat in the corner, silently consuming his breakfast. Trowa on the other hand, was staring straight at me, and after a while his gaze began to make me feel uneasy, that is, until Quarte brought his breakfast.
Standing there watching them all brought back visions of the dream the night before and made me realize that I did not have much time before they found out what I really was. That thought scared me the most, all this time, they were my friends, and they would all suddenly turn on me, for something that was never my choice in the first place. The look on Heero's face, the betrayal in their eyes, as they realized what I had become.
I shook these thoughts away, and accepted a plate of steaming eggs from Quatre. Unable to even be in the same room with them, thinking these thoughts, I walked out. Turning down the other corridor, and went out the back door, kicking the breakfast underneath the porch. Leaving the plate there, I walked down the steps and on to the lawn. Turning the corner around the house and walking towards the road. Getting there I walked down it heading straight for town.
* * *
Watching Duo walk out the door, all of the other four Gundam pilots turned to each other, quizzical looks on their faces.
"He's up already? This is DUO we are talking about here, knowing him, he would have sat in bed and milked it for weeks." Wu Fei broke the silence.
"Well even if he were going to milk it, his injuries although not apparent, were serious, and he should have died." Trowa added to Wu Fei's comment. "He lost almost all of his blood, no human should have lived through that."
"What are you saying?" Quatre asked.
"What I am saying is, that something is going on here, something, really, really weird."
"Weird is right, he was talking in his sleep last night, and those sunglasses, he never wears them anymore," Quatre added with a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean he was talking in his sleep last night?"
"What I mean Heero, is that he was talking to himself, I think he was delirious or something."
"What did he say," Trowa, Wu Fei and Heero all said at the same time.
"Well I heard Zechs' name a lot, and I heard Heero's name in there too, when I snuck up to the door, I could hear another voice, so I am not quite so sure that he was alone."
"This morning, he seemed a little uneasy," added Trowa, "He didn't really want to stay that long, and under the glasses I could see him trying to avoid my eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they did look a little funny."
The conversation carried on into much later hours of the morning, each saying what he felt was going on. Until Trowa came to a conclusion of his own.
"Did you notice the bite marks on his neck?"
"Yes, they are quite puzzling, what about them?" Quatre asked, looking around the room, getting quite bored with the conversation.
"Well, I did some reading, and I think I know what is wrong with our dear Duo."
"WHAT?!! What is wrong with him, tell us what you found out," They all chimed in again, faces lit up at the possibility of a solution.
"Well, after I saw the bite marks, I started to think and remembered that I saw something like that in a book before……"
"What sort of book?" Heero asked.
"A book on vampires."
After saying this Trowa got back many stares from his comrades in arms. They all looked at him first, in disbelief, and then in understanding to the possibility that it might be true. All of them except for Heero who kept his face lowered, deep in thought.
Then, Trowa thought he could see a flicker of madness in Heero's eyes, as he raised his head to address them him.
"So what you are saying that Duo, is kyuuketsuki? Is that what you are saying?"
The only thing that Trowa could do was nod.
"Not true, Duo is not undead, never, It's not true I won't believe it." Heero balled his hands into fists, threatening to punch Trowa in the head.
Backing away, he backed up against the wall, Heero getting closer, and then eventually was in his face. Trowa could see the hurt and pain concealed behind those anger filled eyes. Just when Trowa thought Heero was going to punch a hole right through him, he punched the wall instead. It shattered the wall tile and the sound of crunching bone filled the whole room, causing Quatre to double over clutching his chest.
Heero ran then, down the hall and in a frantic pace, slammed open the front door splintering it on the hinges.
Trowa looked down, tears filling his eyes, and hastily brushed them away as he looked down at his blood soaked shirt.
I woke the next morning, all of the aches and pains gone from my body. I did not find this surprising considering all of the things that I had found out that night. My betrayal of Heero and the betrayal to myself.
I looked out my window out onto the front lawns, finding a lone gardener pruning azalea bushes, of a bright pink color. I want to go outside, I thought, and turned around to go to the bathroom. I walked around the bed; paused and looked down at the floor, muddy footprints, where Zechs had been standing. I walked to the bathroom, opened the door and was blinded by the bright light that came cascading out the doorway.
I shielded my eyes, slowly peering out from under my arm to let myself adjust to the light. I never thought that I could go through so many changes, I mean geeze puberty, and now this? I opened the door fully now, squinting my eyes the whole time due to the agonizing pain. I grabbed my sunglasses off of the counter and put them on, they made things so much better.
I looked up and saw myself, I expected to find a monster, but what I found was something completely different. It was me, a paler me, but still it was me. I laughed out loud at my foolishness, even Zechs the one who made me what I was now, looking back he looked the same as he used to. Though more glorious, it seems.
As I laughed I found two sharp fangs in place of my canines, it made me jump back and I stopped laughing then. I took off the sunglasses, and saw that my light purple eyes had changed to a brilliant violet color that shone in the mirror. Dropping the glasses down on the counter, I walked over to the shower and stepped inside, turning the water on in a nice hot stream, trying to wash everything away.
* * *
After I was done with my "daily grooming" I placed the black hat on top of my head, and as a final touch put the sunglasses on and pushed them up my nose. Glancing one last time at my reflection in the mirror, I turned and walked out the door.
At the bottom of the stairs, in the kitchen I could hear the rest of them sitting down, eating their breakfast of steak and eggs, prepared every morning by the ever so "homey" Quatre. Turning through the doorway, I gave a small wave and a "Good morning!" as four heads turned around to look at me.
Heero sat there with his laptop, a typing away, every so often taking bites of his food, as Wu Fei sat in the corner, silently consuming his breakfast. Trowa on the other hand, was staring straight at me, and after a while his gaze began to make me feel uneasy, that is, until Quarte brought his breakfast.
Standing there watching them all brought back visions of the dream the night before and made me realize that I did not have much time before they found out what I really was. That thought scared me the most, all this time, they were my friends, and they would all suddenly turn on me, for something that was never my choice in the first place. The look on Heero's face, the betrayal in their eyes, as they realized what I had become.
I shook these thoughts away, and accepted a plate of steaming eggs from Quatre. Unable to even be in the same room with them, thinking these thoughts, I walked out. Turning down the other corridor, and went out the back door, kicking the breakfast underneath the porch. Leaving the plate there, I walked down the steps and on to the lawn. Turning the corner around the house and walking towards the road. Getting there I walked down it heading straight for town.
* * *
Watching Duo walk out the door, all of the other four Gundam pilots turned to each other, quizzical looks on their faces.
"He's up already? This is DUO we are talking about here, knowing him, he would have sat in bed and milked it for weeks." Wu Fei broke the silence.
"Well even if he were going to milk it, his injuries although not apparent, were serious, and he should have died." Trowa added to Wu Fei's comment. "He lost almost all of his blood, no human should have lived through that."
"What are you saying?" Quatre asked.
"What I am saying is, that something is going on here, something, really, really weird."
"Weird is right, he was talking in his sleep last night, and those sunglasses, he never wears them anymore," Quatre added with a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean he was talking in his sleep last night?"
"What I mean Heero, is that he was talking to himself, I think he was delirious or something."
"What did he say," Trowa, Wu Fei and Heero all said at the same time.
"Well I heard Zechs' name a lot, and I heard Heero's name in there too, when I snuck up to the door, I could hear another voice, so I am not quite so sure that he was alone."
"This morning, he seemed a little uneasy," added Trowa, "He didn't really want to stay that long, and under the glasses I could see him trying to avoid my eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they did look a little funny."
The conversation carried on into much later hours of the morning, each saying what he felt was going on. Until Trowa came to a conclusion of his own.
"Did you notice the bite marks on his neck?"
"Yes, they are quite puzzling, what about them?" Quatre asked, looking around the room, getting quite bored with the conversation.
"Well, I did some reading, and I think I know what is wrong with our dear Duo."
"WHAT?!! What is wrong with him, tell us what you found out," They all chimed in again, faces lit up at the possibility of a solution.
"Well, after I saw the bite marks, I started to think and remembered that I saw something like that in a book before……"
"What sort of book?" Heero asked.
"A book on vampires."
After saying this Trowa got back many stares from his comrades in arms. They all looked at him first, in disbelief, and then in understanding to the possibility that it might be true. All of them except for Heero who kept his face lowered, deep in thought.
Then, Trowa thought he could see a flicker of madness in Heero's eyes, as he raised his head to address them him.
"So what you are saying that Duo, is kyuuketsuki? Is that what you are saying?"
The only thing that Trowa could do was nod.
"Not true, Duo is not undead, never, It's not true I won't believe it." Heero balled his hands into fists, threatening to punch Trowa in the head.
Backing away, he backed up against the wall, Heero getting closer, and then eventually was in his face. Trowa could see the hurt and pain concealed behind those anger filled eyes. Just when Trowa thought Heero was going to punch a hole right through him, he punched the wall instead. It shattered the wall tile and the sound of crunching bone filled the whole room, causing Quatre to double over clutching his chest.
Heero ran then, down the hall and in a frantic pace, slammed open the front door splintering it on the hinges.
Trowa looked down, tears filling his eyes, and hastily brushed them away as he looked down at his blood soaked shirt.