Chapter 5: No Way Out
The young boy smiled nervously at Duo, mixed emotions in his eyes. "O-ohayo…" he said in a frail voice. He walked his way to a corner, shaking from head to toe.
Duo felt pity as he followed the boy through his eyes. He looks so young… He shouldn't be in a place like this. As those words struck Duo's mind, the boy suddenly fell to his knees, his hands grasping for support. Duo rushed to his side.
"Daijobu?" Duo said holding his shoulder.
The boy seemed to shake in his touch. "Get off me!" he said shoving Duo's hands off. His breathing became heavy as he sat himself in the corner and began fixing himself.
He looks so tired… poor boy.
The boy's eyes reached Duo's. They narrowed as he spoke, "Gomen, I shouldn't have done that. It's just that…" The boy began sobbing and lowered his head.
Duo smiled. "It's okay, I understand." Duo began stroking his hair and the boy relaxed in his touch. "You know, I never had cellmates before."
The boy raised his head and looked at Duo. "Have you been long here?"
Duo smirked. "For as long as I can remember, I've been here for like eternity. But from my calculations, it been three years or so." Duo pointed out the scratches in his cell.
The boy gasped in amazement, "Three years?" The boy lowered his head. "So, there's no way out…"
There was a long silence before Duo started talking again. "I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Duo. Duo Maxwell."
The boy fixed a stare on him. "D-Duo?"
"You got that right. Ex-pilot of Gundam Shinigami," Duo sighed as he uttered the word "pilot".
"You're a Gundam pilot?!" the boy looked at him closely, his green eyes flashing hopefully. "Didn't you try to escape?"
Duo looked away, "Many times. It's no use, no matter how you try, this underground prison will never let you. You can't even lay a foot outside this cell without being drugged."
Besides, even if I got out of this mess, I don't have any place to go… Duo thought. Poor kid, it's gonna be hard for him. I have to cheer him up, at least.
"So what's yours?" Duo looked back and smiled weakly at the boy.
"Huh?"
"What's your name?" Duo continued.
"Oh… my name…" the boy's eyes narrowed.
"What? You don't have one?" Duo said jokingly.
The boy smiled, "Oh no, my name's Chiaki. It's just that I don't have an interesting history." The boy started to frown once more. "I've been in the slave market since childhood."
"I see…" was all Duo could say at that moment, his eyes clouded with thoughts.
Perhaps, there is no way out…